At the beginning of this week, the Princeton Review released their annual list of the top "Party Schools" in the nation. After doing a little bit of digging, I learned that "Major Frat and Sorority Scene" is one of the top qualifiers for this prestigious designation. Hmm.Let's look at the list of schools:
1. University of Georgia
2. Ohio University
3. Pennsylvania State University
4. West Virginia University
5. University of Mississippi
6. University of Texas
7. University of Florida
8. University of California
9. University of Iowa
10. DePauw University
Do the fraternity/sorority systems on these campuses help to promote the party school image, or are they actively working against said image? Do we care? As a larger community, what does it say when our "scene" is one of the major factors in the Princeton Review's rankings? What if the top 10 party schools were schools without any fraternities or sororities on campus? What if?
What if the Princeton Review started ranking campuses with the best fraternity and sorority systems? My definition of best, by the way, would be values in action, high academic standards, service to the community, and making the world a better place. What if? What if those rankings also included the 10 worst campuses when it comes to a thriving and active fraternity/sorority system? What if?
What are your thoughts? I'd love to see your comments below, or on our Facebook Fan Page.
2 comments:
I hate this list. Many of the schools listed here are strong, academically competitive schools. I wonder if they actually go to the schools and experience the party scene for themselves or if they just regurgitate the same list over and over again every year. I hate that because these schools have a large Greek population, that they are automatically deemed party schools.
Kristen Rupert
www.karupert.com
The list is a version of a popularity contest. Students (including non-Greeks) want to see their school at the top of this list, and "vote" with Princeton Review by filling out surveys to describe their school as THE top party school. It's not scientific by any means and I don't think it has anything to do with being Greek. It has everything to do with being a college student.
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