Journalism Exam Piece
Is My College a Place to Party or a Place to Learn?
Randolph-Macon College, 15th from the top on the Princeton Review's list of Party Schools. But what does this mean?
Apparently when surveyed Randolph-Macon Students said there was little studying, lots of sex and beer and liquor in vast quantities.
But surveys are only a measure of opinions. The Princeton Review says that the survey they use is an online survey that, on average gathers the opinions of 150 to 500 students from each college they list.
What they don't look into is the actual habits of the student body. At R-MC, the library keeps record of the number of people who enter the library each day. Over the course of the past five years, these numbers have more than doubled. And while many students study in the library, there are many other places, far more conducive to studying, that the students boast of all over campus.
In 1998, President Martin noticed the reputation of R-MC as a party school and began a heavy crack down on drinking and partying. The image R-MC had at that point hasn't changed much at all. In 2002 when President Lindgrin took over for Martin, he dismissed the party-school image the Princeton review has consistently given R-MC as "absurd" and he cited the rigorous academic setting as a better measure of what R-MC is about.
So what about the average GPA for R-MC? Looking at the past ten years, R-MC's average student GPA has gone up ant it hasn't been this high since 1995. Most students believe that while R-MC is a great place to have fun, they're here to get an education and they were smart enough to get in which might be why they don't have to study as much.
On the topic of sex, with a population of over 1100 students, the health department, which offers protection and prevention aids, estimates that they give out about 60 condoms per week and somewhere around 20 morning after pill prescriptions per week. What that means is over the course of a week about one in every thirty-six students requires these services from the health department. That's not a lot.
And what about the students; what do they have to say about this? According to Freshman Ricker Collins "Saturday seems to be the only night the actual partying goes on. Sometimes there is stuff to do on Fridays, but most people just go home which sucks." He makes a good point; while many students who were actually interviewed said they see R-MC as a party school, most agree that R-MC is more of as suit-case college. Is it possible that while many of the students report they party and drink, what wasn't asked was whether they did it on R-MC's campus or not.
Some aren't as forgiving though Senior Jess Axom rings a bit of truth saying "I drank last night but I don't normally drink on week-days. It’s about figuring out how to balance your studies with having fun." She claims that R-MC has "more than it's fair share" of Sex, drugs, drinking and partying, "but" she says "There’s a time and a place for it."
And what did students from other schools have to say about R-MC's party-school image? Most claim that their school is clear-cut a better party scene. Chris Walker says of West Virginia University "The partying here is hardcore. There is stuff going on every night." Not a single R-MC student could be found to say the same about R-MC.
Though according to Lt. George Hansen of the Ashland Police Department, calls to the APD regarding sexual assault usually involve "female students [who] were so drunk that they were taken advantage of." Some of the Fraternities on campus have a reputation for facilitating this occurrence but there are several programs which emphasize to the student body that such is still considered rape and that counseling and morning after pills are available to all students. Charges aren't often pressed for this on campus, implying, it seems, that the occurrence isn't frequent.
Hansen claims that while R-MC students get drunk and disorderly they are "victims of crime as well as perpetrators." He said alcohol usually plays a role in all incidents he has seen thus far. But according to Faith Boyle, Executive Director of the Hanover Arts and Activities Center. "R-MC's a party school only because drinking issues are more out in the open now, visible to more than just locals and campus safety."
So, is R-MC a "party school"? As usual there's more than meets the eye.
~Shannon Hollender
Randolph-Macon College, 15th from the top on the Princeton Review's list of Party Schools. But what does this mean?
Apparently when surveyed Randolph-Macon Students said there was little studying, lots of sex and beer and liquor in vast quantities.
But surveys are only a measure of opinions. The Princeton Review says that the survey they use is an online survey that, on average gathers the opinions of 150 to 500 students from each college they list.
What they don't look into is the actual habits of the student body. At R-MC, the library keeps record of the number of people who enter the library each day. Over the course of the past five years, these numbers have more than doubled. And while many students study in the library, there are many other places, far more conducive to studying, that the students boast of all over campus.
In 1998, President Martin noticed the reputation of R-MC as a party school and began a heavy crack down on drinking and partying. The image R-MC had at that point hasn't changed much at all. In 2002 when President Lindgrin took over for Martin, he dismissed the party-school image the Princeton review has consistently given R-MC as "absurd" and he cited the rigorous academic setting as a better measure of what R-MC is about.
So what about the average GPA for R-MC? Looking at the past ten years, R-MC's average student GPA has gone up ant it hasn't been this high since 1995. Most students believe that while R-MC is a great place to have fun, they're here to get an education and they were smart enough to get in which might be why they don't have to study as much.
On the topic of sex, with a population of over 1100 students, the health department, which offers protection and prevention aids, estimates that they give out about 60 condoms per week and somewhere around 20 morning after pill prescriptions per week. What that means is over the course of a week about one in every thirty-six students requires these services from the health department. That's not a lot.
And what about the students; what do they have to say about this? According to Freshman Ricker Collins "Saturday seems to be the only night the actual partying goes on. Sometimes there is stuff to do on Fridays, but most people just go home which sucks." He makes a good point; while many students who were actually interviewed said they see R-MC as a party school, most agree that R-MC is more of as suit-case college. Is it possible that while many of the students report they party and drink, what wasn't asked was whether they did it on R-MC's campus or not.
Some aren't as forgiving though Senior Jess Axom rings a bit of truth saying "I drank last night but I don't normally drink on week-days. It’s about figuring out how to balance your studies with having fun." She claims that R-MC has "more than it's fair share" of Sex, drugs, drinking and partying, "but" she says "There’s a time and a place for it."
And what did students from other schools have to say about R-MC's party-school image? Most claim that their school is clear-cut a better party scene. Chris Walker says of West Virginia University "The partying here is hardcore. There is stuff going on every night." Not a single R-MC student could be found to say the same about R-MC.
Though according to Lt. George Hansen of the Ashland Police Department, calls to the APD regarding sexual assault usually involve "female students [who] were so drunk that they were taken advantage of." Some of the Fraternities on campus have a reputation for facilitating this occurrence but there are several programs which emphasize to the student body that such is still considered rape and that counseling and morning after pills are available to all students. Charges aren't often pressed for this on campus, implying, it seems, that the occurrence isn't frequent.
Hansen claims that while R-MC students get drunk and disorderly they are "victims of crime as well as perpetrators." He said alcohol usually plays a role in all incidents he has seen thus far. But according to Faith Boyle, Executive Director of the Hanover Arts and Activities Center. "R-MC's a party school only because drinking issues are more out in the open now, visible to more than just locals and campus safety."
So, is R-MC a "party school"? As usual there's more than meets the eye.
~Shannon Hollender
posted by Shannon Hollender @ 8:33 AM
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