Abby Coster wrote her column (“Game on,” March 17) extolling the virtues of drinking games. She neglects, however, the damage done to the University’s reputation by her work and those activities she publicly advocated.
In a highly competitive job environment during a recession, our degrees upon graduation are compared with those from some of the best and brightest students in the world. In the job market, that means comparing the reputation of the institutions that gave those degrees. As a simple fact of life, a degree from Harvard or Yale is given more weight than some other public universities.
The University of Virginia has endeavored to create a reputation of academic excellence and a level of credibility not seen by most other publicly funded institutions.
And in one fell swoop, Coster has undermined that. At the same time that many graduates will be seeking employment, employers will be able to point to this article and say that our university is a “party school” not worthy of their serious consideration.
As an engineer that has worked night after night to pass classes most have never even heard existed, this consequence is something I could not remain silent about.
Stephen Alexander
SEAS II
Give it a rest, there is nothing wrong with working hard and playing hard. That is the idea that the majority of students at UVA embrace. As someone who graduated last year when the job market was worse than it is now, I had to realize how important it is to not take yourself and life too seriously. Things are not great right now, but you have to laugh to keep from crying. If you do not have a little fun during your University experience, you are truly missing out; just because you are an engineer does not mean you are not allowed to have fun. Sure Coster’s comparison of drinking games and life was a loose, but it does not undermine the integrity of the University of Virginia. UVA does not have a reputation as a party school at all; especially compared to the 70s when Playboy said that the University did not appear on its list of top party schools because “It did not rank professionals”. Once again, life is short, this is the last time you will be completely emersed in a world of people your own age; life catches up with you fast if you take it too seriously
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Having fun obviously is a God-given privilege. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with it. But would it hurt to have some integrity and honesty during the merrymaking?
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I agree. What purpose did the aforementioned article serve? I certainly did not feel I learned from it.
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First Year–this isn’t article, this is a letter to the editor. It just represents an alternative viewpoint, not the opinion of the cav daily.
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