Though UNC compares strongly in other categories, The Review's most well-known ranking belongs to "Top Party Schools," generating the most widespread media coverage. The winner of this year's Most Dubious Distinction Award is Pennsylvania State University.
The Princeton Review annually surveys colleges and universities for a range of considerations intended to assist prospective students and parents in school selection. The Review asserts its findings are valuable tools, offering the perspective of attending students, rather than relying strictly upon university-fed data. Imagine the confusion such raw data causes the prospective student more interested in collegiate partying. Not to say that socialization is unimportant, but it does seem, after all, that education is the purpose of the journey.
Surveying 122,000 students nationally, their very unscientific findings are based upon student responses to inquiry regarding the prevalence of campus use of alcohol and other drugs; hours of study spent each day; and popularity of the Greek system.
Needless to say, such rankings are not without critics. University leaders, long struggling with serious campus alcohol issues, complain this survey trivializes institutional stature. More, they say, this "party-hardy" notion is inconsistent with their educational mission, charting some students on the path of academic failure and health risk. More pointedly, the American Medical Association has requested the survey be discontinued.
I recently spoke in Pennsylvania about underage drinking, and several State College police officers were in the audience. Talking with them later, it's clear that Penn State has a very serious problem with risky, often dangerous student drinking. They expressed concern about this survey, fearing self-fulfilling prophecy for students seeking to live into the university's perceived reputation, however inaccurate.
While UNC didn't make the party school list, that's not to say it doesn't have a significant student drinking problem. But part of any environmental change is challenging invalid perceptions, debunking false expectations to reduce self-fulfilling results. Simply said, research finds that many students drink simply because of their belief that drinking is an expected behavior. Little mention is made of the many non-drinking students.
Unhealthy or destructive behaviors are influenced by a broad range of factors on the institutional, community and public policy level. Changing behaviors comes through multiple channels that promote positive behaviors and norms, while discouraging high-risk behaviors.
But change comes from leadership, and change-generating leadership rarely originates in the organizational middle. It must start at the top. Administrators, faculty, campus officials and student leaders must stand "front and center" to begin the process of changing a UNC environment that encourages or enables destructive underage drinking. Their efforts, in turn, must include, and be supported by, active community involvement.
Institutional silence is not a norm-changing alternative. We should hear more publicly from UNC about changing the underage drinking community norm that threatens their students, academically and otherwise. There will never be a better time than now.
Ronald E. Bogle is a retired Superior Court judge and works with the Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Free Teenagers.
