The world's tiniest violin played "My Heart Bleeds For You" in my mind as I read Adam Yoffie's column ("It's been a rough week," March 6). If the Duke social scene consists solely of roaring drunk kids acting like jackasses, then maybe it's not worth saving anyway.
From everything I read, see and hear, it seems like "fun" is equal to "drunk" at Duke. Social scene means drinking scene. Tailgate means drinking games. Going out means getting drunk in Chapel Hill. Party means get so drunk you can't stand up, scream all night and pee on the neighbor's lawn. Even wine tastings are just a place to chug as much alcohol as possible. It seems like such a sad existence.
Did I drink as an undergrad? Yes. But somehow, my friends and I were occasionally able to have fun without slamming seventeen drinks each. We went out and did the crazy, stupid, fun things you're supposed to do in college-guerrilla surrealism at the mall, impromptu road trips, bizarre theme parties, stealing picnic tables and road signs and construction barrels. Somehow, we didn't always need the excuse of being drunk in order to do something completely crazy and enjoy every minute of it. And the people who spent all their weekends getting smashed? They were the most dull, boring, conventional people I'd ever met.
Note to Duke undergrads: If getting drunk is your only fun, you've got a pretty sorry life.
Caroline Ring
G-BME, '12
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