Posted by Taylor Dafoe
Moorebid Ball, the biggest campus event of the year, was anything but a success. It was a disgusting display of decadence, an eye-opening example of student excess and a taste of the darker side of college life that we pretended not to endorse. The only thing the college succeeded in this weekend was humiliating itself.
There's been a lot of talk this week about how the college will react to the Moorebid horrors, and about how students will act in the wake of such a publicized event. It's not that those considerations are fruitless; they're not. They're just the wrong discussions.
It's not something we like to admit (in fact it's a common joke, really), but the truth is that our campus has something of a problem. It's not a new issue, and we're certainly not alone in this boat, but it's nonetheless a real problem, and an embarrassing one at that. Ironically, now that we're finally starting to talk about it, the rest of the country is doing the same.
Moorebid is just the latest (and most pronounced) in a long string of related issues. There have been so many, in fact, that the concern is now much bigger than hangovers and Health Services visits - we're harming the school's image; we're destroying our campus; and, most importantly, we're hurting students.
Whether we like to talk about it or not, our campus fosters an all-consuming culture of drink first, think later. It's a dangerous weekend scene that's starting to ruin our reputation, limit campus events and, frankly, produce hospital bills.
Skidmore students are far too willing to binge-drink themselves into blackout, to kill the weekend wasted and dumb, than to, God forbid, do something productive and sober.
And don't think this is a small problem that can be pinpointed or pushed off on a few students who take one-too-many shots every weekend. I don't even think any individual can be held responsible for the Moorebid debacle. The campus nightlife just generally involves getting hammered and throwing up on the Case walkway. What did we expect to happen on the most notorious night of the year?
There's talk about discontinuing Moorebid in the future, and it's appalling to hear just how many people (students included) think it's a good idea. However, that's not really getting to the heart of the problem. Really this goes beyond campus officials and the makers of Four Loko – it starts with the students. And, surprise surprise, that's where the solution begins, too.
The student body, both past and present, is solely responsible for its thriving party life and weekend scene. And before we have another repeat of Moorebid, before we really start to shorten the leash on campus events, we need to change. We're headed down a hazardous path, and doing so stupidly and drunk as hell. It's not that we need to give up partying altogether; we just need to curb our habits. So trade in your beer for a brain once in a while.
Taylor Dafoe is an undecided sophomore from Cheyenne, Wyo.