When things are normalized, they are tolerated — even in clearly problematic cases. The recent discussion about sexual assault has made me, and hopefully others, think critically about where we as a community and culture go wrong with our obligation to treat others as we wish to be treated. I believe that the national obsession with a normalized and destructive party culture, one that prioritizes unhealthy substance use and casual sexual behavior, contributes to the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses. This infatuation with unrealistic and demeaning behavior is an ugly truth that spawns many of the problems that exist at Dartmouth and beyond.
Ever since high school, the stats that I hear the most outside of a classroom have to do with two personal numbers: drinks consumed and people hooked up with. Go to any high school homeroom on Monday morning, and you will hear guys and girls brag about how many shots were taken and how many people took off their clothes. This phenomenon only increases in intensity once young adults head to college. Because of increased independence and access to drugs and alcohol, idealized reckless social behavior is attainable and normalized to those at college.
The campus discussions in the past month have covered sexual assault, mental health, alcoholism, gender relations, academic seriousness and personal respect. Many blame the various aspects of the collegiate party culture — binge drinking, drugs, hookup culture, Greek life, et cetera. Various commentaries have brought up important ways to pursue social progress. That said, when students come to college expecting a certain intoxicated party experience, problems will occur, regardless of attempts to expel all the lemons through judicial methods or provide aid to those suffering from the effects of a culture that emphasizes unhealthy behavior.
Each college I toured emphasized the “work hard, play hard” ethos. Dartmouth was no different. Before freshman trips were over, I had already heard about fraternity circuits, pledge term binge drinking, the “Dartmouth Seven,” the “Dartmouth Decade.” Add to this the intense insistence on drinking and casual sexual activity that is so prevalent in today’s youth culture, and tell me that this does not contribute to individual actions that are unhealthy, risky and thoughtless.
Entitlements are hard to take away from people, and make no mistake — many students feel entitled to partying recklessly. There is an abiding belief that going to college is synonymous with bacchanalia. Our culture is so saturated with images of the vaguely pornographic, drunken fun to be had at college that it makes sense that students would strive to achieve that aim. Unfortunately, the problems associated with drinking, hooking up, drugs and any combination of the aforementioned inevitably lead to the social issues decried here daily. Nearly all sexual assaults happen when there is alcohol involved. Many mental health issues college students face are inexorably linked to party culture. Expectations of unhealthy sexual practices lead to a denigration of personal worth and respect for partners.
So what is to be done? I am not advocating a puritanical response that puts the kibosh on sex and beer. I just believe that it’s about time that people begin to acknowledge how the roots of campus problems develop from an insistence on a certain form of partying and social behavior. Even if working against “ragey” social behavior changes the nature of college, is it not a worthy goal to make the lives of students better? Maybe instead of glorifying drunken hookups with strangers and endless drinks, we should strive for social interactions that challenge the party ideal that our culture provides.
I think that when people consider how to reform Dartmouth, how to make our reputation more salient and how to better students’ experiences, changing social expectations from cheap imitations of the “American Pie” franchise to more meaningful interactions should take center stage. By being truly countercultural, challenging unhealthy norms of personal and group behavior and holding ourselves and others to higher levels of self-respect, we can start to eliminate the problems affecting this campus. Or we can continue the spectacle of nonsense until nobody looking for an enriching collegiate experience applies here. The choice is ours.
