Whenever I tell people that I go to the University of Iowa, their initial reaction is usually something like “Oh, number one party school” or “You must like to party” or something along those lines. Every time this is said, I cringe. To me, my school is something much greater than simply a party school, and it has given me much more than great weekends. However, although I can now say that Iowa is not the number one party school anymore, that excuse is a bit lame. In reality, while I can personally defend the Hawkeyes and testify to all the amazing opportunities this school provides, I can’t get too upset. While it causes me pain that some people only associate my college with parties, their comments are justified. What they don’t realize is how this party school status actually affects the campus.
When I announced that I was attending Iowa, all of my peers congratulated me and followed up with comments about how the party scene is great, and am I ready to rage, and can I keep up with a top party school. The overwhelming majority of people viewed our status as a top party school as a good thing and were impressed rather than disappointed by the statistics when it came to drinking in Iowa City. It was “cool” to them that we were ranked nationally for going crazy and having parties, but no one even thought about the dangers of such assumptions.
In reality, drinking and partying in Iowa City are part of the culture of this University in a dangerous way. The title of Top Party School is a large part of the problem. Students assume that this is a given for college students and that going out on the weekends is almost a requirement. Now students almost have a pride in the fact that they carry a fake ID and go to the bars or to parties three nights a week and get completely wasted. It feels like a birthright as a Hawkeye that we would behave this way and not even in small doses. Students don’t just go out, enjoy a couple drinks, dance a little and make their way home. Students are binge drinking, putting themselves in danger, throwing huge parties with dangerous amounts of alcohol and drinking themselves to the point of throwing up, incoherency, hospital trips and worse. And this is normal. In fact, as our ranking drops, the culture is pushed even more. Students take so much pride in this “top party” mentality, that they don’t even like to see this negative rating go. In the fall, I heard students talking about keeping up our reputation only to find out that they meant as far as drinking goes. I’ve heard discussion of the Iowa City Police interfering with their parties and that this is “taking away what it means to be a Hawkeye.” I’ve even heard students discussing getting tickets and justifying this as good because it contributes to our ranking.
Here’s what upsets me about this: The University of Iowa is a well-ranked university and offers its students countless opportunities, yet we choose to focus on the drinking culture as a major aspect of our University. Yes, all colleges have drinking and partying, both of age and underage. Iowa is not special in this. Every school could be a top party school, but the difference is the way the students view their school. A shocking amount of students at Iowa take pride in our ranking as a top party school, as if it is something good that should be recognized and upheld. So many times we view our nightlife and party scene as a bigger plus than the actual school we attend, and this carries to others and affects our reputation.
As students here, we should value our school for so much more than the parties that we have access to here. Iowa offers unbeatable programs, tons of reputable majors and grad programs, outstanding athletics, student organizations, leadership positions, internship and work opportunities and guides towards successful futures. This University has so much to offer, and instead we focus on this ranking? There are tons of facts, statistics, and numbers proving how great of a University we have, and this is the one that we choose to take pride in. This mentality is fueling a culture in Iowa City that is dangerous and upsetting.
Now, I am not saying that everyone at this University should give up partying and should never touch a drink again. That’s unrealistic and not even the point. I am not against drinking, nor do I dislike people who do. What I do dislike is the idea that in order to be a student here, one must drink unreasonable amounts, go wild, be reckless and endanger themselves every weekend. This culture is encouraging people to drink in ways that are unhealthy and unsafe, and our city and students are worse off because of it.
Being a student at a top party school is nothing glamorous. It isn’t all fun and games. It is unsafe and has caused a drinking culture that is hard to escape, forcing the mentality that you have to drink, party and be crazy to be a student here. This University has so much more to offer, and it’s time we learned how to have fun (sure, even drink) but to do it safely and start creating a reputation for our school that it actually deserves.