All Work And No Play?
When it comes to partying, many students would rather not
“Dull and Lifeless.”
When you think of college parties, the image of numerous students stuffed into a house with music blaring, bodies dancing and the temperature rising comes to mind. At Whittier College, though, students are often met with with half-hearted attempts at organizing a party by different sports teams and societies.
It is not unusual to enter a Whittier College house party and be immediately confronted with a half-empty backyard. Students quickly scatter off to find a group they can set up camp with. Radio rap hits fill the air, but the number of people dancing can be counted on two hands. It seems people prefer to piddle about the party than dance. The roof is rarely being raised.
From this writer’s experience, it seems like most people stick to their social circle and do not venture out to interact with others. Everyone standing around in cliques doesn’t get the party started, but rather makes it feel like people are being standoffish. As the night progresses, though, students often start to loosen up and interact with others. This is typically due to the different alcoholic beverages being served.
At such parties, there is usually a station set up with a special punch that helps rid people of their inhibitions. Typically the punch is distributed out of water jugs with a spout, which allows for easy access. There will also be various handles of liquor that are hardly ever filled with much. Partygoers will rush this area because typically there will be a shortage of alcohol before the party is shut down.
Whittier College parties usually peak around 11 p.m. That’s when most people have reached a decent level of intoxication. It becomes quite evident that more people are stumbling about the party. This is also when the wait for the bathroom can feel like an eternity. Numerous groups of girls make up the majority of the line. Others lean against the wall with a look of despair on their face. When you finally make it to the bathroom, the stench of vomit tickles the nose.
Most parties don’t make it past 1 a.m. Police will show up to shut the party down more often than not. The police car will sit out front of the house, watching everyone disperse out into the street, a sea of Ubers waiting to round up all the students swaying about.
Cooper Tirado currently a second-year who runs track at Whittier says the party scene is “dull and lifeless.”
The scene is lacking because students quickly become bored with it after the novelty of seeing fellow students partying wears off. Sophomore Mark Luján is a member of the Franklin society, which gives him access to a great deal of social events. Recalling his first party as first-year he says, “I loved it. I got to meet so many new people. It was also an interesting experience because I was the designated driver.”
Lujan enjoyed the parties at Whittier because he was able to expand his social network. Soon enough, though, he was seeing the same faces over and over. This is to be expected given that Whititer College’s enrollment is about 1900 student, but after awhile Lujan says the parties begin to seem routine and lose their thrill.
It’s also a different era. College students these days, often holding jobs and jugging schoolwork and extracurriculars, seem to be choosing to stay in and study rather than going out to party. Students are coming in wanting to graduate as fast as possible in order to land a job.
“I just want to go to a Whittier party and not get party blue balls.”
According to a recent survey of 150,000 college students done by the University of California, Los Angeles, which was reported on by the Los Angeles Times, first year students arriving at college in 2015 were “less experienced party animals than their older peers but with more mental health and emotional issues.” This cohort had the lowest self-reported drinking and partying numbers in the last 30 years. The poll, which UCLA has adminstered for decades, suggests that this generation of college students has been scarred by the economic crash of 2009 and anxieties about debt and quality of life. As a result, college students seem to be more focused on putting their efforts towards their education and extra circulars.
Past generations facing more secure futures with less debt may have generally viewed college as a place to help build social connections and get an education. Now students believe college is necessary to get a job that will pay enough to live decently.
Some could see this as a positive change by college students adjusting their priorities. On the other hand, college is a time where students should be able to let loose on the weekends with their friends. College is one of the last times when students do not really have as much responsibility compared to when they graduate and enter the workforce.
One thing is clear, if drug use is any indication, students are not having as much fun at school as their parents once did. Drug use amongst students has decreased noticeably among this generation of college students. According to Drug Abuse.com, more than 50 percent of Baby Boomers (born between 1943–1962) have reported marijuana use by the age of 20 compared to just over 30 percent of Millennials (1983–2002). Generally speaking, Gen X (1963–1982) were the most sober of the generational groups surveyed, but Millennials exceeded even Boomers when it comes to prescription painkillers, its drug of choice.
Not that parties here are drug- free. Second-year Lhaga Dingpontsawa, a member of the Thalian society, has been to various Whittier parties and has witnessed different drug use. “Of course I have seen people do different drugs,” she says, “but most of the time it is just weed.”
Students these days are more informed about the adverse effects of these drugs compared to older generations. For instance, Boomers apparently liked their angel dust. Being better informed has led to less drug usage at parties. This can be a positive as students will experience fewer issues that can result from drugs.
The number of upperclassmen who look forward to Whittier parties seems pretty small. Many have deciced they would rather spend their Saturday nights elsewhere. A senior at Whittier who asked that her name be withheld describes the Whittier College party scene as “f****** weird.”
She says the reason is that because of the small student population, the parties are poorly attended and talk peters out quickly. She describes it as more like students just hanging out instead of an actual party. She says she has become busier with school and work and goes out less.
Dingpontsawa can relate. “I do not really go out much towards the end of the semester because I end up having more homework. Most of my friends end up being busy too.”
This new breed of college students may be changing perceptions of what going to college is like. College students will no longer be seen as party animals that rarely make it to class. Instead they are focused on what it takes to get established in a stable career. This may be a a step in the right direction students should remember that they are never getting their young adult years back.
A recent study published in the academic journal, Social Psychological and Personality Science, looked at how students with different grade-point averages managed their time around studying and attending athletic events. They found “strategic indulgence in tempting activities would enrich our knowledge of long-term goal pursuit.” Students with high grade point averages were able to find a balance between studying and going to a sporting event. Students that have not had much academic success were unable to find a balance between the two.
Clearly students can manage their academic workload and the occasional party. They don’t have to go out every night and end up in a bush, but letting loose once in awhile might not be the worst thing. Parties allow individuals to decide what type of social gatherings they flourish in. Some may prefer intimate gathering with friends over being stuffed into a house party, but remember, college is short. It should also be sweet.
