I have lived in the small city of Lexington, Virginia for the majority of my life. The town supports two universities on opposite ends of the spectrum, Virginia Military Institute (4 year jail) and Washington and Lee (4 year frat party). I used to detest those drunken fratboys, as they would walk at night through the middle of my yard making too much ruckus as my sleep was all to commonly interrupted. I would walk down my sidewalk on saturday and sunday mornings cleaning half-full and broken bottles before I even knew what a forty ounce was. But once in college my perspective has changed.

I am not in favor of the party lifestyles of students at places like WLU and Penn State but I understand why the drinking and partying does occur. Students do not have anything better to do. They do not feel like they are or can contribute to the local community so therefor they have little regard for their neighbors. And what better thing to do than drink yourself numb if your not contributing anything to your peers or yourself. How can a school expect a student to not get wasted after the student realizes that he or she is more or less a paycheck rather than an actual contributing member of a community. Until schools help students realize their potential to change their environment, the majority of students will become lost into something that is very harmful but still very culturally acceptable, drinking.

do or die