Unlike other recent topics of controversy among the campus community, the Princeton Review’s ranking of Syracuse University as #1 Party School in America elicited a swift response from Chancellor Kent Syverud. In his most recent mass email, he more or less shamed the campus community for earning the title. The Chancellor made a very stern effort to discredit the legitimacy of the Princeton Review as an institution, yet he used their ranking as reason to renew his investment in Syracuse University’s academic excellence.

I’m a student who has always put his education before anything else, but still revels in the atmosphere of our party school. Considering I (and many of my peers) have spent my three years at SU maintaining a healthy balance between work and play, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that Chancellor Syverud was underestimating the discipline of our student body.

While many of SU’s academic successes may lack the virality of the party school ranking, the accomplishments of our university and its alumni speak for themselves. Part of the college experience is developing a work ethic that most will continue into their professional lives. A small percentage of students never outgrow the initial recklessness that the freedom of college often inspires, but that should speak more of their own personal commitment to education. Attending a “party school” teaches students how to resist temptation when it’s necessary for their success, but also gives opportunity to indulge in fun when it’s earned. Nearly everyone will slip-up along the way and hopefully lessons are learned from such instances. At the end of the day, however, I have seen firsthand that education is the top priority of most students.

Syracuse students’ ability to enjoy themselves socially while excelling academically speaks volumes of the well-rounded nature of our student body. “High-risk use of alcohol and other drugs” are found everywhere and surely on most college campuses, but their existence does and should never be seen as representative of the entire community.

I have faith that Chancellor Syverud will maintain his commitment to academic excellence, but I hope he doesn’t pander for the sake of counterbalancing the Princeton Review’s ranking. In the remaining weeks before fall classes start, I hope my peers take our #1 ranking as reason to celebrate our school’s multifaceted culture, knowing soon we will soon return to campus to party hard, but not before working even harder.

Derek J. Horn
Syracuse University
Communications Design
Class of 2015