Think Whitman is just a college? Think again.
Whitman students get much more than they bargain for when they pay the $40k+/year for tuition. Many of us get our education heavily (or entirely) subsidized. I do. But even if we’re not the ones footing the bill, it’s still important to ask the question of what’s getting paid for. The majority of our time at Whitman is not spent in class. While we’re encouraged to do outside research and homework, most of us don’t spend all of our free time at the library. It’s this time that I’m interested in looking at.
I don’t have space here to establish that our desires, choices and preferences are socially constructed and do not originate from some trans-historical essence, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. One of the reasons you chose Whitman was that you thought you’d enjoy the time you spent here. Apart from the value of the degree, class sizes, faculty etc., you came to Whitman hoping it would be “fun.”
Whitman plays an active role in society. As each successive year of students graduate, they go on into the “real world” and become (or do not become) professionals who play a role in the maintenance of society in general.
It is in this context that we should think about the drinking, drug-use, sex, violence, music and socializing that happen here. Whitman students pay tuition every year not just for classes, but also for the Anything But Clothes party and to smoke blunts on Ankeny. Some choose not to participate in these kinds of events (probably a minority), but the point is that Whitman forces one to have some sort of relationship to drug-use and sexuality.
I doubt that everyone who is currently Greek knew before attending that they would be and I’m sure there are unaffiliated students who thought they would join a Greek society. There are also other spaces like Interest Houses and dorms that can structure your living spaces and the politics of your friend networks. While we may join these groups for “fun,” they often play important roles in getting jobs after graduating. The alumni network exists almost solely to get students jobs and to donate to the school.
I had never had a drink before coming to Whitman, but I’m having a beer as I write this article. The most successful students I know drink or use drugs, and probably will continue after leaving school. Interestingly enough, my friends who don’t go to college are seen as “failures” when they drink heavily, but if you’re a junior who’s never “ice-luged” you’re probably the loser. Whitman students have sex with professors and each other, use drugs, drink alcohol, assault and get assaulted, hook-up in classrooms and on dance floors not OUTSIDE the spaces and temporalities of Whitman, but within them. We need to recognize we’re paying for the privilege.
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