Author:
This past week, The Daily Beast blog reported that Occidental is the 12th happiest college in the nation. I find this extremely hard to believe.
I am a freshman – all year I have heard nothing from upperclassmen but how great the school used to be, including “awesome” parties (also the mere fact that there were actually parties) and plenty of room for all students. Everyone, including my own class, seems to talk only of how they are unhappy. Unhappy with room draw. Unhappy with growing class sizes and stagnant dorm size. Unhappy with the party and alcohol policy – frequent comparisons are made to the Claremont Colleges and Stanford, who allow their students to party because they recognize that all work and no play makes Jack not only a dull, but extremely frustrated and angry boy.
So how could Oxy be happier than hundreds of schools across the nation? A simple look at The Daily Beast’s sources provided the solution. The blog used College Prowler, a website where students can post their opinions about their school in various categories. College Prowler was used for the following grades: campus housing, nightlife, and campus dining. I went to College Prowler to investigate, and what I found was shocking.
Oxy earned an A- for housing. Not only that, but Braun was listed alongside Newcomb as the best dorms, with BY and Stearns as the worst. I agree with Newcomb and Stearns’ appraisals. Braun as a best dorm? The whole first floor feels like an antisocial insane asylum. BY, with its air-conditioned rooms and card-key entry, is a bad dorm? Clearly, this is not an accurate grade.
But moving on. Oxy received an A for nightlife. This seems even more ridiculous than the housing grade! Every Monday, I hear from upperclassmen about previous years, where there were multiple parties every night and we didn’t have to resort to “flash mobs.” College Prowler gave Oxy an A in this category because we live in LA – the city with arguably the best night life in the country, assuming that we take advantage of it.
The only grade that seemed reasonable was campus dining, with a B. You’re 1 for 3, College Prowler. Last time I checked, 33% is well below failing.
This is my conclusion, Oxy ad ministration: do not listen to the Daily Beast or College Prowler. We are not nearly the 12th happiest campus in the nation, but we would love to be the happiest overall. And you have the power to do something about it.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
