Halloween... A month later

I originally planned to post this the day after Halloween, but school, finals, and plain ol' forgetting prevented me until now. Let me start by putting my bitter first-post into a little context. The Halloween party at Ohio University was absolutely horrible this year, or at least my experience of it. Friday, before the actual block party, I nearly got into a fist fight at my favorite bar with two racist tools who actually threatened to kill me. Then that Saturday, during the actual party, I dressed up as the Cash Cab by putting a cardboard box around me, and it lasted all of 2 hours before a drunk woman fell in front of me and used my costume to pull herself back up. As a result, I apologize if the following sounds somewhat bitter.

It seems like over the past 20 or so years college has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. What used to require hard work and dedication now only requires money and the absolute minimum of an attendance record. Students in the past were expected to do well, while today most are expected to be sub-par and are even accommodated for it by professors and administration. What once was a path to the highest jobs in society has now become the most basic requirement for any decent job; and related to that, now grad school is expected for an ever increasing number of occupations. In the end, most people end up essentially buying their job.

As I walked home from the festivities with my broken costume and pissed off attitude, I suddenly saw that Halloween in Athens is a great analogy to college itself. Let me first go on the record by saying that I do enjoy drinking and partying in college, it's the people who attend college with (literally) no other goal or accomplishment in mind that I am against. I just want to clarify that I enjoy having "a good time" in many different ways; I'm not a straight-edge who thinks my version of fun is the only legitimate form. Back to the point, the first analogy I saw was in the amount of people at the block party. What began in 1974 with a few costumed students blocking the main street has become a planned event with tens of thousands of people from all over attending. Albeit this is an accomplishment, however it's fairly superficial. Through social pressures, people are now expected to attend and are even looked down upon (again, literally) if you decide not to. Some people are even ridiculed for choosing not to drink. Compare this to college itself: it began with just a few people, it has grown to a bloated size, and society treats you differently if you do not go (especially economically, but there does seem to be an air of social elitism against those who can not or choose not to attend). A few people I know (myself included) didn't even really care about going this year, but decided that since everyone else was...

A second analogy I saw was with the costumes themselves, which have grown progressively more generic each year. Every Halloween, there are more guys dressed as Mario, Luigi, or a Pirate (or how about a combination? I admit, a bloodthirsty Mario with two pistols and syphilis would be pretty unique), and more girls dressed as slutty nurses/maids/etc. What was once a forum for creativity is now a way for unconsciously proving just how much you fit the social mold, or alternatively just how apathetic to creativity you are. I honestly feel my Cash Cab idea was up in the top 5% for creativity, which is sad considering the hype of how unique this event is supposed to be, as well as the fact that I didn't even really want to go. Comparing this to college, how many people do you know went into psychology or business just because they had no idea what else to do? (No offense to psych and business majors, if you like it then go for it). And we all do poorly in classes at times, but way too many people are devoid of any creativity and simply get through every class without ever even attempting to think. Maybe my school is an extreme case, but at OU the resemblance regarding creativity is uncanny.

The last analogy, and there are more that I'm not mentioning to prevent this from becoming longer and preachier than Braveheart, is with those in control. The first few Halloweens at OU were spontaneous events created by the students themselves. Yet after a few years, the town itself began to take charge of the event, which originally was for the best considering the amount of people these days as well as the disruption the party causes. The problem arises in that the powers that be have attempted in the past (unsuccessfully, so far) to charge admittance fees to the block party. Again, I see the point: a lot of police have to be diverted to watch the party. But the suggested price, like college, is way too much. If you're attending from out of town, you're already paying 20 bucks to park for the weekend. Tack on the 5 to 10 bucks, which will inevitably go up over the years, and that's a fairly hefty price for a single night of walking around on a street. I know it doesn't seem like that much, but that's a huge profit considering the tens of thousands of people who attend. Plus, with the hundred or so students arrested and fined for underage drinking each year, the town is making a good deal of money back from what they're spending on security. I see college as a similar course of events. Originally, professionals gathered on their own accord to instruct and interact with other professionals. The state eventually entered with good intentions of regulating what was going on to prevent quacks and average Joe's from misteaching people. Then finally, the potential for profit became too much, and a good idea became a money-making scam.

I apologize for making my first post a lengthy, bitter attack on the university system. College still serves a purpose and for as many bad experiences I've had, there have been many great ones too. I don't mean to preach, I just always hope that the more people pointing out what's wrong with an institution, be it Halloween or college, the more other people might take note and begin to question themselves.

Drink and be merry

Man's greatest gift is also his greatest curse. With the ability to analyze, conceptualize, and proselytize comes the imperative for self-examination and the responsibility of looking beyond tomorrow. In short, we look for what isn't there and see what we shouldn't see. What's needed is a cure for sentience, an antidote to conscious thought.

And so God™ in His infinite wisdom invented alcohol. Man, realizing it was the only way to save society from itself, then killed Him and stole alcohol for himself. And weekends have never been the same since. Happy Saturday.

Down one for JFK tonight and make the world dissolve away. This is a fucking speakeasy, after all.