Mixed Opinions on National Rankings

The Daily Collegian - 9/6/07

Students at the University of Massachusetts can't decide whether the Princeton Review's recent report will affect the school's "party hardy" reputation.

Once a top-10 staple on the Review's national party school ranking, UMass has fallen from No. 7 last year to completely off the list in the 2008 edition.

Although being omitted from the list might decrease national

recognition as a party school, freshman Erika Bergenson said it doesn't bother her.

"College is not only supposed to be about alcohol and drugs but about academics," she said. "It's a good thing, a more positive way to be looked at."

Matt Orlando said getting a degree at a school with a partying reputation causes possible employers to focus on the negative rather than the positive.

"Having a reputation as a party school cheapens my degree," he said.

Orlando, who is a sophomore, said he has never seen UMass as an amazing party school and has noticed parties getting progressively calmer during his time here.

Senior Peter Lukasik called the party culture at UMass a "self-perpetuating myth."

"I never though we were anything special as a party school," he said.

While some students may not think UMass is a true party school, others believe the campus is taking measures to crack down on partying and drinking.

"It's a lot harder to party after the school took down Frat Row and the police … and RAs became stricter," said Jason Wang, a senior in Lambda Phi Epsilon.

Wang's fraternity brother Cliff Kwang agreed, saying he has definitely noticed a decrease in partying after the demolition of some fraternity houses, including Lambda Phi Epsilon.

"A lot of kids come to party at school," Kwang said. "UMass is

affordable and still known as a party school … depending on where you are living. Southwest is still crazy [but] cops are cracking down."

Despite increased police presence, sophomore Joe Durell called partying at UMass "off the hook."

"My personal experience is we are Top-10 for sure," he said. "We party pretty hard at UMass."

To help dispel the myth that UMass students party all the time, the Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking has started a social norms campaign.

This campaign is dedicated to educating the student body of the gap between the perceived amount of drinkers and the actual amount of drinkers. The slogan reads, "Two out three UMass students have four or fewer drinks when they party."