What it means to be number one

I really enjoyed this radio broadcast. Although it was painfully long, I thought it was pretty cool. It was almost like reading, but a lot easier. I was able to picture the different scenes in my head as they were unfolding. Some of the quotes were funny, although one sounded a little awkward to me. When the kid said “I’m just trying to get her drunk so I can take advantage of her” I was sort of taken aback. I didn’t know if he was serious or just playing around, but that is definitely something you do not mess around with. I would’ve liked to hear more about how the students felt about the number one party school ranking, but overall I thought this was very interesting.
The author is very direct about the issue of problems that come with a number one party school ranking. Ira does a great job putting us in the moment and painting a descriptive picture of the different situations he experiences.
The issue needs to be further investigated because the university has accepted the problems that come with the ranking. They’re not doing much to stop the drinking; they just want the students to be more responsible drinkers. Binge drinking at Penn State has even led to the death of a student, Joe Dado. I think the university needs to step up a little and make sure nothing like this ever happens again.
In the beginning, Ira gives us insight into how the residents of State College are affected by the students partying. As he is sitting on the porch with Sarah Koenig at her home, they see many groups of loud drunk students walking the streets. Ira and Sarah also see two kids dragging a stop sign down the street and a group of girls peeing on her lawn. Although the noise is a nuisance for the residents, there is a greater issue. Once in a while, a drunken student will enter a resident’s home and sleep in their bed. I didn’t believe that this actually happened up here. I had heard about it before, but thought it was just a myth. I was shocked when the mother told the story of how her daughter found a student passed out in her bed. Creepy.
The writer quotes mostly students, although he does obtain some quotes from President Graham Spanier, a police officer, and other residents of State College. Ira is able to show the students motivation for acting certain ways. When the writer asks a freshman girl “Did you guys always dress like that in High School?” the girl replied, “No, we just got slutty after we got into college”. Really? Come on, I thought people that went to this school had more class than that. Another student gives his perspective on drinking by saying “If there was a drunk button, I would buy one”. One State College resident seemed to have been through a lot. He talked about how he installed motion sensors on his lawn in order to monitor students walking on his property. The man also talked about how he saw some fraternity kids throw furniture off the roof, then set it on fire.
The writer wants readers to see exactly what goes on at the country’s number one party school. He also wants the readers to come to the conclusion that heavy binge drinking can be contained, but the school and the town have to work together like at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The writer reveals to us through his talks with Spanier that banning drinking at Penn State would only cause more problems. Alumni would no longer come to games or donate money and the drinking would just be driven more underground.