In 2009, Penn State was named the #1 party school in the country. Acclaimed podcast “This American Life” created an episode that same year in which they investigated what it’s like to live on and around the campus of a school where underage drinking, vandalism, and other shenanigans happen every weekend.
The biggest commonplace represented in the podcast is the idea that nearly all students at the number one party school spend their weekends drinking, which fits into the wider ideology that college students often make bad decisions in the interest of having a good time.
Another commonplace present is the idea that drunk college students are rowdy, annoying, and even destructive in the community, as proved by the students who steal road signs or damage pizza delivery cars.
Additionally, the podcast focuses on how the State College community adapts to the specific culture and economy of a party school. The commonplaces present include the idea that successful businesses adapt to their consumers in order to perform better, as well as the idea that the responsibility of law enforcement is to ensure that as many people as possible are safe.
However, it also challenges the commonplace among students that local police are strict upholders of the law who will punish any alcohol-related crime they see. On the contrary: the policemen interviewed in the podcast say that they are aware that underage drinking is rampant, but they only punish students for it if the students are overly rowdy.
Overall, the podcast points out the differences in ideologies between the students and other members of the community. The students interviewed thought drinking was a harmless, fun way to spend weekends, while community members reported the often vandalistic habits of drunk students, encompassing the ideology that drinking is a serious problem among college students.
Even outside of the podcast and the idea of a “party school,” ideologies and commonplaces are present in every facet of life at Penn State.
For example, on every floor of most, if not all, dorm rooms, there is a small space to be used for studying. These rooms represent the commonplace that one should focus on academics at college and spend a significant amount of their time studying, which fits into the ideology that graduating and earning a degree is more important than parties or socializing at college.
Additionally, college follows a schedule very different from that of high school. Classes are more spread out throughout the day and meet two or three times per week rather than five.
The commonplace present in this decision is that older students are more mature and therefore can be trusted with more responsibility in choosing what to do with the extra free time they have due to spending less time in class.
Overall, college campuses are full of signs of commonplaces and ideologies that students and community members take for granted and think of as common sense. Many of these commonplaces present in the design of the campus are part of an ideology that keeps the best interests of the students in mind. However, sometimes it may be best to question why we have the ideologies we do and reflect upon how we can improve them.
Only by questioning our assumptions can we grow, and taking ideology into account is a major way of doing so.