College: Has Higher Learning Reached a New Low?

I always enjoy going to bookstores when I have some down time. I like everything about them--the smell of the coffee brewing in the café sections, the soft music playing on the store speakers, the shelves of books that I get lost in every time I go. The overall atmosphere relaxes me when I’m wound up and eases me when I’m stressed. I always leave feeling happy and lazily content. But on my most recent trip, I saw something that was both funny and disturbing.

I saw it while sitting in the café of Barnes and Noble, enjoying an iced tea. It was big and red, and looked to be one of those retro-type calendars. Curious, I went over to look at it, and it was indeed a faux retro calendar--about college. I began to flip through it, chuckling at the pictures and slogans-- "College: What Goes On At School Stays At School;" "Laundry: Don’t Worry, Mom Will Do It At Thanksgiving;" "Finals Week: The Power of Caffeine!" While the calendar was highly entertaining, I began to wonder: why and how did college, which is supposed to represent higher learning, get such a slacker image?

Think about it: pop culture has portrayed college as a series of one-night stands, drunken frat parties, doing assignments at the last minute, sleeping in, and not showing up for class. The new movie Accepted is about a slacker kid who, unable to get into any legitimate universities, creates his own where the students get to call the shots: "classes" at the pool where the guys can check out bikini-clad girls, no tests or term papers and chemistry labs where students can experiment with certain "herbs." The creators of CollegeHumor.com authored a book which gives advice to college students, such as how to get their paper deadlines extended and how to buy drugs. Remember that show a few years back called Undeclared? The previews for that showed a lot of sex and partying. If college students are truly "the leaders of tomorrow," then why are they, and college itself, portrayed in such a negative light?

I have one theory. Even though college is completely voluntary, it is assumed that once students graduate high school, they’ll go on to get some type of higher degree. Parents expect it. Society expects it. It’s just the next step in a natural educational progression. That being the case, the college institution has evolved--or, rather, devolved--into being just another public (or private) school.

Like I said, this is just my personal theory. I don’t know how college has gotten the image it currently has. While I’ll admit that there is some truth to it--there are the parties, sleeping in, occasional missed class--that’s not all there is. College students aren’t all horn dogs looking for an easy way to get laid or get out of a class assignment (whichever is easiest). There are some out there who truly work hard, wanting to better themselves. And while the current college image is funny, I think that overall, it could stand to be cleaned up just a bit.