The “This American Life” podcast, hosted by Ira Glass and Sarah Koenig, did a special on Penn State University in 2009, titled “#1 Party School”. The hour-long podcast delved deep into the party culture at PSU, from frat parties to tailgates to everything in between. While Penn State is known for its enthusiastic, party-like atmosphere–where would a Lion be without its pride?–, there are also countless hidden dangers to the seemingly harmless school spirit. The podcast touches on underage drinking/fake IDs, campus police experiences, the dangers of being a delivery driver, various types of assault, alcohol poisoning, and even deaths that result from being the #1 party school in the country (as crowned by the Princeton Review). In this blog post, I’ll explore several of these issues that colleges face in the US today, as well as the commonplaces and public perspectives that have arisen from PSU’s reputation.

One of the biggest ideologies and classic traditions at PSU that holds true to this day is that of tailgating at the infamous Nittany Lions football games. Penn State has the largest football stadium in North America, and (before the pandemic) hundreds of thousands of students, alumni, friends, and family would flock to the stadium to see the team play. A strong sense of community and pride has been established at these games–I don’t think anything will ever quite match the undeniable electricity in the air during a Whiteout game–, and Penn State would not be the university it is today without this essential and unifying commonplace. However, as the podcast explains, there is also an underlying danger to the football sensation: tailgating.

Tailgating is the common practice of setting up shop in the endless expanse that is PSU’s parking lot, and drinking while preparing for or watching the football game. While this may seem like a timeless American tradition, Glass and Koenig spare no detail of the risks that are intertwined with this activity. The podcast includes a short clip of the interview of a college student celebrating her 21st birthday in the parking garage. It is obvious from her tone and diction that she is already intoxicated, and had likely been for the majority of the day. While the behavior is inherently legal, there are several instances that hold cause for some concern; for example, she accepts a drink in an unmarked plastic cup from an older stranger, and comments on how it’s the “strongest drink [she’d] ever [had] in her life” (10:53). While it seems as though no harm was done, it is clear that this situation could have taken a turn for the worst. The young girl could have suffered alcohol poisoning from the strong drink, or worse, the drink could have been laced with a sedative drug (ex. “roofied”). This celebration of a birthday and PSU’s football game could have easily ended up with the girl poisoned, drugged, hospitalized, or worse.

Additionally, the podcast touches on the fact that most people who participate in tailgating before a night game often drink for 10-12 hours straight, and remain intoxicated the entire day. This clearly poses high risks for alcohol poisoning, and incidentally leads to activities such as drunk driving and disorderly behavior. Because of this, the commonplace of tailgating at universities and stadiums across the country actually perpetuates a highly dangerous culture, especially when alcohol and drugs are added into the equation.

In addition to football games, Greek life also promotes a traditional yet extremely risky culture. In this segment, Glass and Koenig briefly explain the practice of “pre-gaming”. Pre-gaming, or pre-loading, involves the consumption of large amounts of alcohol before arriving to a party. Whether it be to get a “beer jacket”–a term coined for the warmth one gets while drinking alcohol–or just to get the fun going, the practice is extremely dangerous and can result in alcohol-related incidents before people even arrive to a party. The two hosts interview a group of girls, who describe taking “five shots in five minutes” as a pre-gaming activity for a fraternity party (16:42). Their fridge is stocked with nothing but alcohol–except some water and a block of cheese–, and the girls already seem completely intoxicated before they even attend the party and the “real” drinking begins.

While the ideology behind fraternities are to promote a sense of community and belonging at a university, the drinking/partying culture that has taken hold in these houses are not only high-risk, but have proven to be fatal. There have been countless stories of alcohol-related deaths either before, at, or after a frat party. According to the podcast, “17,000 students die across the country due to alcohol-related injuries” (46:48), and this doesn’t even include instances of alcohol poisoning, injury, assault, sexual assault/rape, and hospitalization. What should be a night full of dancing, music, and college fun has escalated night after night into serious and even deadly situations. This is largely due in part to the perpetuation of this commonplace in society. Whether it be from Hollywood/movie influences, parent and alumni stories of old, or peer pressure from current students, the drinking culture at PSU is one that is intertwined with Greek life and one that persists despite the risks and consequences to this day.

The general ideology and sense of community behind American colleges is a wholly positive one. Students come from across the country to attend these universities, gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of the world around them, and meet some lifelong friends while gaining crucial life experiences. It has been hailed by society as the final stage of growing up, and countless students every year truly find themselves and a sense of belonging to a group of individuals. While these commonplaces are highly beneficial to the future generations, these institutions cannot sustain if they do not address the problems lying below the surface level. Teenage drinking, drug use, and partying have dominated the college scene, and have resulted in a myriad of serious emotional, mental, and physical issues. Until these universities find long-term, permanent solutions for these problems, the phenomenon that is teenage drinking will remain as one of the more dangerous commonplaces of modern society.

Source: Glass, Ira; Koenig, Sarah. “#1 Party School”. This American Life. 18 December 2009. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/396/1-party-school.