UMass: More than a party school

It's the frequent articles like this that make out the University of Massachusetts Amherst to be a living incarnation of Jersey Shore, with no hope whatsoever. Unfortunately, the school's reputation as a 'party school” is so notorious, it can often mask what the school has to offer.

Any resident in the Amherst area should be familiar with this kind of story popping up in their local newspaper. It's a very frequent thing to hear about how some drunk kids got arrested for fighting or disturbing the peace. Hell, it's even more convincing when one sees a group of freshmen dressed up in mini-skirts, high heels, and fish net stockings in winter, heading to the Monkey Bar, to no doubt pay the bouncer to get in.

But people outside of the circle seem to misunderstand that this percentile of students is small. Believe it or not, majority of the students here don't actually want to drink until they puke, and then drop out because they've wasted their life and then move back in with mom and dad. Sure, there are those people here, but you'll find those kind of people anywhere and on any college campus.

It's a prime example of how the slightest disparaging video or article can completely sway someone's opinion over a subject, regardless of how much they actually know. Before attending this school, I was unsure if the rowdiness of it all would overwhelm me, since I avoid party scenes. But it should be noted that the partying takes place primarily in one area in the campus. And the student organizations I have participated in have provided valuable experience I may have lost out on.

It's a shame, but wild behavior is more likely to be considered “better news” than the article on some professor who has won yet another grant. But journalism isn't the definite source. As said before, there's always more than one side to a story. It's up to the audience to make that distinction on their own.