The Miami Police Beat is the most popular part of the school newspaper. It is essentially a column dedicated to recounting the humiliating stories of students who were caught in the act of intoxication. We all read and laugh along with the column, then we pay no further attention because we perceive those students as irresponsible and removed from ourselves.
If one stops to actually contemplate the repercussions incurred by the students then we would take the stories as a grave warning to the destructive culture that lies within college life. That student who wants to attend medical school or law school has a lesser chance of acceptance because of improper conduct. A current plague upon the youth is that we seem to live for the day at hand rather than foreseeing the consequences of certain actions. I admit that college is a time of great freedom, but I find more often than not that some of my peers are continuously compromising their values for small fleeting moments of excitement. While everybody seeks to have a good time, it is important to contemplate the method in which we achieve this happiness. I’m perplexed by how many of my peers are drawn into underage drinking, overt promiscuity, academic apathy and even illegal drugs. Some people may argue that this is a part of the culture surrounding college life but I completely disagree. Most of my friends who have faced trial due to possession of alcohol have never drank before. So why start now? I believe the culprit behind this care free mentality is our initial perceptions of college life. Media and pop culture tell us that college is about indulging in drunken debauchery but it goes much further than that. For those of you who believe this I offer a sign of caution because this view is grossly inaccurate.
The subject that I speak of is something that is usually skirted in a public forum like this but it is necessary to discuss these issues in public. It is important to know who you are and aspects of yourself that will absolutely not be compromised for the sake of fitting into a perception. I fear that as I continue to live on this campus I will lose myself and become something unexpected.