Touted as the “hottest party” on BU’s campus, the Women’s Center got down and dirty with special guest Michele Carmody and her treasure chest of sex toys. What was the special occasion you ask? Why, come on—it was in celebration of “Masturbation Awareness Month!”

Students were encouraged to bring “alotta cash” for the plethora of “toys” that would be sold. And of course, they were expected to check their closed minds at the door. Sexual expression will have none of that.

For the faint at heart the University promised that it would closely “monitor the activities” and provided “participants with copies of New York state law regarding obscenity.” It expected the organizers to abide by the laws.

How can something so crude be so condoned? Free speech. “As a public university, Binghamton must abide by the federal and state laws regarding freedom of expression and speech as guaranteed under the United States Constitution, even though some members of the community may find these activities offensive and inappropriate,” in a statement from the University.

But Candace de Russy, a Trustee at the State University of New York has got a good point. “This is yet another sad example of vulgar and debased campus academic and moral standards. If Binghamton’s president is so concerned with rights of free speech, she should exercise her own such freedom and join me in criticizing this outrage.”

Yes, I’ve started to do homework again.

During his first week back to school this year, my Middle School aged son, who just officially became a teenager and promised me he wouldn’t become evil like his older brother, came home telling me his Language Arts teacher was teaching the class how to “Write Small”.

The first thing that went through my head was, “Oh, no, when ARE they going to stop with the Penmanship nonsense.” Having always had terrible handwriting, penmanship was always my downfall. To me, it was formula art. To me, good penmanship was not a measure of intelligence. It was just pretty. It was always hard for me to make a decent first impression because my script is practically illegible. Both of my children seem to be afflicted with the same elementary school curse. In our family, we type notes to each other. It’s not unusual to see a computer generated “Be Back Later. I’m at Joe’s” note taped to the door.

“Penmanship?” I asked. “In seventh grade?”

“Oh, no, Mom,” Steven said. “She’s teaching us how to write about small things instead of keeping our topic large. She calls it Writing Small.”

I was relieved that it wasn’t a penmanship lesson and that the teacher was going outside the box to teach my son and his friends a writing technique.

I learned more about this at Open House when she explained this concept to the parents in detail.

On the board, the teacher had the children brainstorm. She started with World Peace as her topic. She said this was too much to attempt writing about, so she had the students reduce it. Her topics below World Peace were World War I, then the Battle of the Bulge, then air raids, then the atomic bomb. She seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, reducing her scope at each step. Then she directed them toward personal wars. The last item on the World Peace list was fighting with a sibling over who gets “shotgun.”

I immediately jotted the idea down in my notebook. I also scribbled other things down that she said. My son is going to be doing a lot of writing this year. I’m a happy camper.

The teacher sent the students home to do an assignment. She gave them a choice from six topic trees she had listed on the board, all similar to the World Peace list, and told them to write a short, specific paragraph about the smallest thing at the end of the list. She limited them to three sentences about this single item.

My son chose the Autumn List. He showed me his list and at the bottom was “a leaf falling off a tree.” I left him alone to write, and I thought he came up with something good. He wrote three specific sentences using specific words, and his writing drew a great picture in my mind.

Unfortunately, on the day it was due, when he read it aloud in class, the teacher liked it, but she insisted he turn it into a first person piece where HE was the leaf. I thought, in my realistic point of view and as a writer, this was directing him down a silly road. He felt the same way. I made a few jokes about how wonderful it was to have a leaf in the family. I asked him if he’d be “leaving” us and made some bad puns. Objectively speaking, his original was extremely good and stood on its own. However, he’s in it for the grade at school, so he did what he was told. The first person rewrite was a decent paragraph, but it sounded kind of dumb to both of us.

I’ve started looking at topics I’m writing about , trying to reduce the scope of the topic just as my son has been doing. It’s a very effective exercise.

Last night I told my son I wanted to write an article about how his assignments help me write. I was having trouble getting started. My son said, “Write small, Mom. Write about a leaf.”

One day Amy and her father went on a walk and all of a sudden they heard a noise like a cry! They saw a goose being attacked by a fox, so they ran and scared the fox off, then took the goose home and helped him. They called the doctor and he said it would probably be about one week until he would be better. So until he’s better, they put him in the barn in a cage. Amy hated to see the bird in the cage.

One day, it got out somehow and started to fly around the barn. When Amy came in to check on him, she almost fell over. So she called her parents to come and see it, so they did. The next day, they let him go. Then the flock started flying south again.

According to a senior economics major at the University of Maryland, the riot occurred as a release “of drunkenness and sexual energy.” Many students at the University began drinking alcohol eight to nine hours before game time. With the combination of adrenaline and beer, unrest was inevitable. Of course, this is no secret.

There is also the sense of deep loyalty to one’s college. Although only a few people started the bonfires and threw objects into the flames, hundreds of students stood by and cheered in approval. As a sophomore at Maryland told the campus newspaper The Diamondback, “It’s the first time people actually cared.” Although it may sound strange, these riots are becoming the only true uniting force on large, state school campuses. The students are brought together, either by victory or defeat. A sense of school spirit arrises out of destruction. A freshman at Georgetown University believes the students at Maryland, “wanted a reason to join in and feel part of the group. They wanted to feel young and crazy.” In fact, even though Maryland lost to Duke in the semi-finals, students still chanted, “Go Terps,” as they threw furniture into the bonfires.

You do not have to be a psychologist to know that most college students like to participate in wild behavior. Riot squads, fire trucks and news station helicopters are exciting for students who are constantly caught in the routine of classes, papers, and exams.

However, the Prince George’s County community, which surrounds the University of Maryland, will not allow alcohol and school spirit to excuse the significant amount of personal property damaged during the riot. Three students have been arrested by county police for setting and stoking the fires. In a letter of apology to the community, Vice President of Student Affairs Linda Clement wrote, “Individuals alleged to be involved in criminal activities related to these events will be subject to appropriate criminal and disciplinary action.” The police are still reviewing photographs and videotapes to identify implicated students.

As these riots begin to increase on campuses across the country, university officials are desperately trying to find ways to redirect students’ adrenaline after sports games. Many universities are going to experiment with after-game festivities. Honestly, that’s like giving a high school student the option of attending an alcohol-free post prom party when their friends are rolling out the kegs at a local motel. While these riots are inexcusable and extremely destructive, no easy solution exists. It is a simple fact that most college students get a quick rush from rebellious behavior. Through the riots, they are able to make a statement to our society–”We can do whatever we want, whenever we want. Go Terps go!”

Student riots on college campuses are not unfamiliar in America. Only a few decades ago, students violently protested the forced enlistment of thousands of young males into the Vietnam War. Today, students participate in the same destructive, violent behavior on college campuses because their sports teams lose critical games. Such was the case in the description above after the University of Maryland Terrapins lost to their arch rival the Duke University Blue Devils in the national semi-finals of the NCAA basketball championships.

After about $35,000 in property damage, $500,000 in cable damage, and three serious injuries, many people, including students, wonder what caused the riot at the University of Maryland. The most logical response: the students were upset that they lost to Duke and were unable to advance to the finals. Wrong. Only three months before, riots also erupted on campus after Maryland beat Duke in the regular season. In this riot, a mob of students started fires on Fraternity Row. They broke down the metal goal post in Byrd Stadium, carried it half-a-mile across campus and pitched it to the flames. As a Theta Chi frat member told the Washington Post, “When we beat Duke, we riot, and when we lose to Duke, we riot. The police should accept it.”

College riots after sports games are not unique to Maryland’s campus, as in the past year riots have also occurred at the University of Arizona, Penn State, and the University of Connecticut. Why do intelligent, young college students resort to such unwarranted, destructive behavior? What causes their almost barbaric drive to invade strangers’ houses to steal furniture and food to throw into bonfires? I think there are two answers–alcohol and the basic unrestrained college mentality.
…to be continued..

“Unfortunately I’d be gay without an option.” -Ian de Souza.

“Worthless!” -Rajat Kapoor.

“It’s very difficult to…” -Abhishek Jaiswal.

“God! I can’t even think of it! But I’ll learn to make use of the conditions available!” -Elton Fernandez.

“First of all, I wouldn’t exist!” -Meghna Rao.

“We would have to manage with the same sex” -Mrudulatha Devdas.

“Life without oxygen!” -Shilpa Rao.

“Far beyond reality!” -Jatin Babani.

“Nothing. No fun, no love, no life, no sex…” -Sandeep Malpani.

“Wouldn’t make much of a difference. I’d learn to adjust.” -Aparna Rajesham.

“IMPOSSIBLE. This is not to say that I’m a nymphomaniac. But, my real competition lies in the opposite sex.” -Priti Patnayak.

“Meaningless and Boring!.” – Mithona Rao.

“The world would have been a happier place without men…” – Divya Bharath.