The Class of '93

Today's College Students are Hanging out, Hanging in and Changing all the Rules. Here's their Report Card

In the not so distant past, college was considered a haven--an oasis amid parental constraints and the demands of an adult working world, a precious unreality neither here nor there. Campus was a safe, often scenic place to learn to distinguish Keats from Yeats, brie from camembert, Shaker Heights from Brooklyn Heights. It was also the perfect place to develop critical thinking, to discover alternative lifestyles and to learn how to tap a keg. And all this self-improvement took place before a permissive jury of equally bewildered peers. You learned responsibility gently: It was far more difficult to get in than it was to get kicked out.

But colleges ain't what they used to be. Real life has crept onto campuses and it has brought its own set of consequences--discord, blights and conflicts. Students are strained and estranged by real-world conflicts that demand real-world solutions. Consequently, today's campus dwellers are more serious and more competitive and have strong beliefs and precise agendas.

Then there's the economy. The cost of a college education is higher than ever: Since 1981, tuition and fees for a four-year public college have increased 144 percent, while the average annual student loan has grown to $2084. Some haven. Meanwhile, a bleak job market constantly reminds students of how difficult real life will be. Yet, optimism remains. Students are still impassioned, reckless and eager. And they haven't forgotten how to have a good time.

We assembled a team of correspondents and had them touch base with students at campuses throughout the country. We knew our work was cut out for us: College students are infuriatingly unpredictable, constantly evolving, forever reinventing themselves--and one another. But, of course, that's the joy of it all.

A Price to Pay

In 1962 the average salaried American worked 129.5 days to pay for a year's room, board and tuition at a private university. In 1992 that figure was 251.4 days--almost double the 129 class days in the 1992-1993 Yale college calendar.

The New Greek Ethos

What would Bluto say? According to Sidney Dunn, president of the Fraternity Insurance Purchasing Group, premiums for college fraternities are beginning to level off after having increased in recent years. Dunn attributes this to "a new Greek ethos" in which students take more responsibility for their actions. As part of a risk-management policy, many frats have adopted "dry rush," "no hazing" and "no keg" policies to reduce their insurance premiums.

Serve Somebody

As job opportunities for college grads decline, nonprofit organizations such as the Peace Corps and Teach for America report an upsurge in employment applications.

In 1989 the Vermont Student Environmental Program began a source-waste-reduction campaign. One of the program's missions is to persuade the student association to supply incoming freshmen with reusable plastic mugs. (The cups come with instructions.)

Stingiest Safe-Sex Plan

The University of Illinois' student health center makes condoms available to all students but restricts them to a monthly allotment.

Back to Basics

Berkeley students got an eyeful from undergrad Andrew Martinez, who, in a gesture of free expression, took to strolling on campus in nothing but a backpack and sandals. The lesson in First Amendment flexibility was a tough one: Martinez was expelled.

Mellowest Administrator Award

In his first memo to students after taking office, Teikyo Marycrest University president Joseph Olander wrote: "Latin, Asian and Mediterranean peoples have long known what contemporary medical researchers have just discovered: Naps are very good for us. Therefore, I should like to encourage each of you, sometime between one and two P.M. every day, to take a ten- to fifteen-minute nap."

Campus Bests

our compendium of college all-stars

Best Marching Band

The marching band at the University of Wisconsin conducts a regular "fifth quarter" dance on the field and in the stands. The band has also issued several tapes and compact discs.

Best Profs

Kenneth T. Jackson, Columbia University: Prolific author, captivating lecturer and campus favorite. Jackson takes students on an all-night bike tour through city streets as part of his History of the City of New York seminar.

Richard Caldwell, University of Denver: Along with former Colorado governor Richard Lamm, Caldwell teaches Hard Choices, a popular course that addresses current social and economic policy. Caldwell also has a collection of rare guitars.

Fanny Howe, University of California, San Diego: A seat in one of Howe's classes is a hot ticket. The syllabus for her poetry class features works by rappers Arrested Development and Queen Latifah.

Best Newspapers

Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University: It's been said that the Daily Student can compete with any of the area papers. The reporting is well-balanced between local and campus news, and the articles feature great photography and sharp layouts.

University Daily Kansan, University of Kansas: Best known for its thorough news coverage, the Daily Kansan is indicative of the professionalism and high standards of the university's school of journalism.

The Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles: The Bruin is a journalism machine. The first issue of the school year usually exceeds 250 pages, including a 40-page sports section. The interviews often rival the Los Angeles Times'.

Best Radio Stations

KSJS, San Jose State University: With no paid staff, this two-time Station of the Year Award winner broadcasts well-executed, community-minded news programs and is known for its sharp interviews.

KJHK, University of Kansas: Aired the popular, volatile call-in talk program The John Boss Show. Boss was considered the Rush Limbaugh of the college set.

WXYC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: The UNC station has helped cultivate Chapel Hill's thriving music scene by regularly hosting live studio performances featuring local bands.

Best TV Stations

ICTV, Ithaca College: Comedy programming is consistently strong, as are its music performances. The staff also writes, produces and edits its own soap opera, Semesters. The show's players are now local celebrities.

Cable 8, Washington State University, Pullman: Strong management, side-busting comedy and the best music videos in college television make Cable 8 a campus and community favorite.

UND-TV 3, University of North Dakota: UND's cable station boasts outstanding local and campus news programs and a weekly morning show to rival the networks'. Studio One is broadcast opposite Good Morning America and the Today show.

Best Computer Center

The University of Texas has 18,500 Macintosh computers--the largest arsenal at any institution or corporation worldwide.

Our campus scouts searched for information from library reading rooms to counseling centers, from deans' offices to dorm rooms. But time and again they found that the best place to learn what was on the minds of students was wherever the party lamp was lit. Party life and the party state of mind remain alive and well, despite the excesses of political correctness and the new puritanism. Here's what we learned about the enduring rascal spirit, why people remember college fondly and what parents and Rhodes interviewers never hear.

Most Notorious Make-out Spots

(Whatever happened to the dorm room?)

At Arizona State there is a mammoth letter A painted on the side of a nearby mountain. Adventurous students who score there call it "making the A team." Some other hot spots:

Boston: On the third floor of Mugar Memorial Library.

California State at Chico: In the rose garden fountain.

Central Michigan: In the satellite dishes by the football field.

Eastern Kentucky: At the amphitheater in the middle of campus.

Georgetown: On top of Darnell Hall.

Lsu: On the golf course.

Mit: Atop the dome at the campus' main entrance. "We feel that the institute is fucking us, so why not fuck on the top of the institute?"

Rit: On top of the bronze tiger.

San Diego State: On the baseball diamond, "usually the pitcher's mound."

Florida: In the parking area near Lake Alice. "It used to be the fifty-yard line on the football field, but that stopped when we got rid of the Astroturf. The coach is very protective of his field."

Unlv: At Hoover Dam. "One couple allegedly screwed on both sides of the dam so they could say they did it in two time zones."

Wisconsin: Next to the statue of Lincoln at the top of Bascom Hill.

Virgin Legends

"If a virgin graduates. . . ."

Boston: "the statue of a flock of birds dedicated to Martin Luther King will fly away."

Rit: "the balls of the bronze tiger will fall off."

Florida: "a brick will fall from Century Tower."

Unlv: "the lights on the Strip will go out."

Missouri: "the stone lions outside of campus will roar."

West Virginia: "the musket on the statue of the Mountaineer mascot will fire."

Mit: "We don't have a legend like that. Too many virgins actually do graduate."

Most Fun Profs

Arizona State's human sexuality professor Owen Morgan (known affectionately by some students as Owen "the Organ" Morgan). "The first day of class he asked us to think of all the names we knew for vagina. Four hundred fifty students began yelling at once."

The Boston University prof who announces on the first day: "If you don't like the word fuck, this class isn't for you."

The human sexuality prof at Chico State who brings in transsexuals and transvestites as visual aids.

The constitutional-law prof at Georgetown who hands out recipes in class. Her mission: to teach students to distinguish between tort law and chocolate tortes.

The professor at Ohio University who is described as "an ultrafreak who assigns students strange projects such as carrying around a moldy banana for days at a time." Apparently, he's also a pushover for wild stories. "A student once told him he missed doing a project because his dog ate his parakeet, and he was so severely depressed about it that it had affected his whole semester. The prof changed the student's grade from a D to an A."

The marriage and family instructor at Southern Illinois who asks students to re-create the way they pick up one another and then critique it.

The Florida journalism professor who throws parties and asks students to come dressed as their favorite Beatles song.

The creative process prof at the University of Missouri who teaches metaphysically. "She instructs us to channel our energy. One day we balance our chakras, another day we find our magnetic fields."

Favorite Courses

Ball State's Health Science 261: "This class is raw. We watch films about sexual arousal, then have relay races to see who can put condoms on a glass penis the fastest."

Georgetown's American Humor, a.k.a. Jokes for Jocks.

Mit's Social Psych 9.70: "At the end of the course, you grade yourself."

Ohio University's Introduction to Leisure.

Rit's Food Preservation and Packaging: "We brewed beer, packaged it, then drank it."

Texas' History of Rock and Roll: "You're guaranteed poor marks if you can't distinguish Buddy Holly from Chuck Berry."

Wisconsin's Music in Performance, a.k.a. Clap for Credit.

Oddest Campus Parties

Boston: Alpha Epsilon Pi's Welcome to the Womb bash boasts "a large vaginalike structure" at the top of their staircase. The stairs are converted to a sliding board and coated with peanut oil. Everyone who enters the party must dive through the vagina and slide down the board.

Georgetown: The Drop Your Pants Dance. "No matter where you are during the dance, if you hear certain songs--like Garth Brooks' I've Got Friends in Low Places--you drop your pants and let your boxers shine."

Rit: Spring Fling in the township of Henrietta, featuring car-rolling and nude mud-sliding. The townsfolk can't stand it.

Best Extracurricular

Lsu: Nude golf, which is played at night with glow-in-the-dark golf balls. A Fiji favorite.

All-Time Party Stunt

Still the reigning champ: MIT's Smoot Marks. In 1958 a Lambda Chi Alpha pledge named Smoot was used as a ruler to measure the bridge that leads into campus (he was turned end-over-end across the bridge). The structure was officially logged at 364.4 smoots--plus one ear--and is now a landmark.