Alcohol, Drugs Still Play Key Role in Defining 'Fun' Colleges

From the Princeton Review to CollegeHumor.com, the availability of alcohol and other drugs remains a key measure of a college's "fun" quotient, the Washington Post reported Jan. 3.

CollegeHumor.com, for example, uses indicators like bar closing hours and drug interest alongside availability of free condoms and percentage of students in fraternities and sororities to rate schools. Likewise, Princeton Review's list of top party schools relies heavily on estimated use of alcohol and other drugs.

However, some are calling for a broader definition of "fun" in ranking schools. Frederic D. Homer, a philosophy professor at the University of Wyoming, said that college students tend to distinguish between fun with no purpose and fun with a purpose -- the difference, say, between an intramural soccer game and a varsity contest. He found that students used the same criteria for drinking: low-level consumption was considered casual fun, but binge drinking fell into the category of fun with a purpose -- to escape from stress or other problems.

School administrators often work hard to create "fun" activities that don't involve alcohol, such as "dive-in" movies shown at an indoor pool, or a trip to the big city. But many students say that a big part of the fun in drinking is that it is illegal, and involves some risk -- an appealing mix to young adults, especially when it involved friends.

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