The “This American Life” podcast paints a very direct, shocking, yet ultimately real picture of Penn State and its culture, particularly how it relates to drinking, partying, and the local nightlife for young college students. Though the podcast aired ten years ago, there are still commonalities and continuities mentioned that still occur today, for example the use of “frackets” and the heavy underaged drinking. These examples can be considered parts of commonplaces and ideologies, concepts which we will dive into now.
One prevalent commonplace represented in the podcast is the idea that it is natural, widely accepted, and somewhat unavoidable to drink underage. Even the president of the university at the time seemed to accept this commonplace and good-naturedly shrug at the whole situation, more or less saying it’s a problem within the wider American culture as a whole and he still wants his students to have a “good time”. However, I believe it important to also consider that in light of tragic events and consequences that have occurred since this podcast aired, there have been significant, intentional changes in the drinking culture that have resulted in a less dangerous environment than ten years ago. A similar ideology in the podcast is embodying the notion that because college is such a unique season of life and environment, it is acceptable to do things in those four years or so that a person might not otherwise do at any other point in their life. There is a collective understanding or commonplace that because a person is not yet tied down to a career, but they have more freedom than when they lived at home, there is less responsibility because there are no parents or bosses to directly hold a person accountable. Which is why a college student in the podcast talked about stripping naked and running around; it’s a lot harder to do that when you have a nine-to-five job.
Commonsense decisions don’t just relate to the Penn State nightlife, they can be found in dorms and classrooms too. I’ve noticed in some of my classes that seating for people with disabilities that require a wheelchair or alternative seating typically are at the back of the room. This demonstrates the commonplace that just the act of having provisions for disabled seating is enough, and not that the location and specifics of that seating is equally important, especially if the person would prefer to sit up front closer to the board. Similarly, there is a commonplace assumption made in the dorms regarding the quiet hours. The decision made was that after 8 p.m., quiet hours are enforced, and residents should keep noise levels down in their dorms and hallways. While this is something everyone generally accepts intellectually, it rarely happens and people typically turn a blind eye.
All-in-all, along with over 40,000 students, commonplaces, ideologies, and “commonsense” decisions also find their home at Penn State and are just as much part of the culture as the Nittany lion.