The podcast on This American Life about Penn State being #1 party school, made me feel like someone finally knew how I felt. I agreed with everything that was said in the podcast. As a college student who knows what goes on at these parties, I can say with confidence that this podcast was and still is accurate. As, a Penn State student, I felt ashamed by the behavior of these students. I will never understand why the school gives admission to people who focus their time on binge drinking, reckless behavior and violence. Even though I refrain from drinking, I honestly don't have a problem with students who choose to drink. As long as you know your limits, drinking should always be a pleasant experience. I personally have no problem waiting until I'm 21 years old. I've had enough traumatic experiences for a lifetime. When students get drunk they don't realize that the school's reputation gets tarnished. What I mean by that is after graduating from Penn State and starting your job hunt, there are companies that will refuse to give you a chance, solely on the fact that you went to Penn State. These companies assume that you went to Penn State to party and not just to further your education. We as Penn State students know that isn't true. After a hard week of classes, it's only right to have some fun, but the problem is some students don't know when to stop.
The ethos from the podcast comes from the fact that Penn State being #1 party school two years ago, was ranked by the Princeton Review. I would say that its credibility is weak because it's ranked only by students. Students would rank Penn state number one just for the title. The votes should have come from faculty and the people of this community too because they see what goes on at these parties or they see what happens when students leave the parties. For instance the bar owner Ray Rocke, said he would rather see students who are lively and fun than too see students who are depressed and hate the world. Rocke has great credibility because he has been at been state for almost 2o years in 2009. Pathos would be when the interviewers began talking about the deaths associated with drunken students. Example is, Joe Dado who drank plenty, but his BAC wasn't too high that he would die. It was the fact that he had a loss of balance. This should inspire students to stop binge drinking. I felt proud when Ira Glass said that students love Penn State no matter what. Our well known chant "We are...Penn State,.Thank you... You're Welcome," shows that we as students aren't ashamed of whom we are and we aren't willing to change for anyone but ourselves. The logos that stood out to me are that at this time over 30,000 students drank alcohol during the weekend. That is more than most schools in the country. A small definition at stake is wild parties= trips to the cleaners. A large definition at stake is Penn State=party. Overall, I feel that the school won't put too much effort in controlling drinking on campus and around campus because that would hurt their "money flow" drastically. Tailgating is a Penn State tradition that Alumni partake in before football games and without it alumni might not contribute many donations too the school. For instance, the school made well over 100 million dollars just from alumni contributions. I highly doubt they school is willing to give that up, even though I though a life would be more important than money.
