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Infants!!!
British students throw better parties than the Yankees .... clothed or otherwise!
Party on dudes!!!
Hey! Did you get that guys? If yer starkers "the conversations end up being more sophisticated". I vote we strip off before we write these posts. However, I am wearing a fez, that could reduce the tone...
The world would be a better place if we could all be naked, it is a great equaliser, and everyone could be sure that everyone else wern't carrying any weaponry.It's a pity that, it's not possible due to the climate here.
It's hardly new. Hippies were doing it at Woodstock and Monterey in the late 60s. And they are the people who are running the world's businesses now!
It could be that they can no longer afford pyjama parties!
It sounds like parties for nerds and geeks. The beautiful people sure aren't going to show up and if they did, the geeks won't be invited. Would you really want the pimply girl from lit class showing up or the fat guy from calculus?
Do they serve little weenies and angel-hair pasta?Actually, nothing strikes me as less appetizing than looking at food and naked bodies simultaneously. It's also damned unsanitary. This is the nation's "brightest"?
8) Well you'd be no good at a roman orgy, don't expect any invites from me, no fun there, how sad.
Well, this is also coming from schools that have given us such classes as 'Cyberfeminism', 'Whiteness:The Other Side of Racism' and my personal favorite 'queer Musicology'
You can read all about them here: http://media.yaf.org/latest/12_19_06.cfm
Just glad I went to a real art school where we actually read real English novels, learned actual history and were really required to work, think and take responsibility for what we created or did.
How can you be sure no one is hiding a weapon? And what's the point if you can't stare? It sounds like maybe they are a little bit ashamed.
There are places I've visited where men and women in small villages wear very little clothing and it seems very natural. But for a group of American college kids to strip their clothes off and stand around together is about as unnatural as it gets.
Quoting, "People are so conscious of how they're coming across that conversations end up being more sophisticated."Perhaps we should require debates in Congress and Parliament be conducted 'au naturale'. Could one take Ted Kennedy's bombast seriously, if one had to truly consider the source?On second thought, never mind. The Law of Unintended Consequences would probably lead to absurdities such as Representative Jessica Alba, Senator Brad Pitt,... and Lady Madonna.
Not sexual? Puleeeese! All those 20-something hormone generators in attendance naked, plus intoxicants, and no sex? Don't be insulting! The cloud of pheromones alone makes some kind of sexual result a biological inevitability! It's called an ORGY, for crying out loud! It's not a new idea at all; it's the 70s redux! And these zygotes call themselves progressives...
Well then - I think we would all be in much better shape, don't you?
After teaching at a college - I would like to think that showers be a requirement. Yes, beforehand!
Unfortunately, I was born far too early. When I was in college, seeing bare skin was enough to give one the vapors. If I went to one of those parties now... I would probably cause the vapors in all of the other participants!One fact clearly emerges... these students have far too much time on their hands.
I am naked under my clothes!
Those yanks can throw a party. I am in the US for another week and they can really throw a party. I haven't been to any naked parties but it sounds fun. :) Hopefully I will get invited before I go I will be in Boston in 2 days. Harvard is there so i will have to ask around. I think it is a great idea and a good way to tell what guys can look a woman in the face and who can't keep thier eyes off the goodies.
I guess it speaks to the difference in social climates in the U.S., between the east coast and west coast, but I find myself thinking "Naked Parties, . . . So?".
But then again, maybe it simply speaks to the difference in climates - Jan 8 and it's a balmy 27'C here in L.A.
And these pretentious pinheads will be the elite of our country? My dad once attended a party in Arkansas where Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham (much younger, and not yet in the White House) were in attendance. They all stripped naked, and my dad can only assume that they had an orgy (wife swapping was big back then), because he left. It wasn't very long after, my father changed from the democrat party to the Republican Party. Bill, however unaware, asked my dad to be his gubernatorial campaign manager, and Dad declined...How has life in the democrat elite changed that much? Yikes! The thought of getting naked in front of a bunch of arrogant charlatans is beyond my comprehension!KK
I think if it works for them....so be it. naked parties HAHA I really cant say I would attend myself. I would be too self conscious....maybe i would see a secret crush and out myself hehehe.
and as far as the outlandish classes they have there such as cyberfeminism. if someone wants to pay to take a class that will mean absolutely nothing in the long run......why not?
reminds me of the movie "accepted"
Would you want these guests sitting on your upholstery?!!
I think we should all be allowed to have sex in public. Think how progressive!!!
eerrr.....arrogant charlatans touche madame ;)
No. 22...Didn't occur to me, but Ick!!!!! I would be walking around with a bottle of sanitizer and a roll of paper towels all night!!
Please, most of the kids that attend Ivy League schools are liberal idiots who follow a Politically Correct creed that would never allow them to partake in situations described in these articles. While these parties may go on, I'll bet they are not attended by more than a handful of students...otherwise, they are nothing but a bunch of PC hypocrites...then again, liberals are major hypocrites.
Not unlike Stewie Griffin's "sexy parties"...and his look fun ;0
No. 25 - I guess you could always cover the furniture in plastic.....
Well it's no wonder they're all going unclothed to parties. If I had to pay ivy league tuition, I'd have no money for clothes either.
#25, I agree.
The very thought of all those bare "browneyes" make me blue!
But the thought of all the resultant "Hershey Kisses"on the upholstery & furniture is just too much tobear, OR bare.
If you add this to the stories of wild grade inflation at those schools (50% of all grades are A's, 80% graduate with honors), the shoddy courses offered, the picture is of badly decayed schools of which attendance to means almost nothing. But people are paying $60K plus (although many get funded by the taxpayers).
We don't hire or interview Ivy League undergrads any more as a result. And the grad students need to be investigated carefully, sometimes with PIs. Transcripts, resume's and references are becoming worthless and just too much bother too filter through the baloney.
They are wasting their lives and money. It isn't funny, radical, or bold. Just stupid fools.
Mock an Ivy League student today and every chance you get ..,,.
Having gone to some of these parties in college, I'll can assure the world that they were, in retrospect, fun, low-key, and relatively uncomfortable evenings (at least for me).
In the mid-90s parties, most people were drinking (at least they were back then) and then some...
And to answer those last, more prurient questions, lingering in your minds: the parties were by invite, so the less attractive Yalies (which, let's be honest, was most of them) weren't invited...They weren't all that small, either. If memory serves.
The parties, I mean.
With that said, most of the night was spent forcing yourself not to look directly at people's privates and having "lofty" conversation (which, believe it or not, was the standard at Yale) about philosophy, politics, science, music, etc.
Yale is a strange place. With 5,000 pent-up nerds in contained within 10 city blocks, that shouldn't surprise anyone...
As side notes to the article and the above commentary:
1. Yale doesn't give scholarships to anyone. So Tony Blair's son either lied or they've misreported in this article.
2. To #22: Most of the furniture in college was revolting hand-me-down stuff (just like any other college) so sitting on it naked was more of a chore for the naked people than the owner of the furniture.
3. To #32: Grow up. The education you get at Yale (and Harvard/Princeton/etc.) is top notch. Sounds like someone didn't get into their top choice for college...
Well, I can't speak for the ivy-leagues...but here in the appalachian mountains I've been to a few naked parties. Ours have always occurred spontaneously among a group of very close friends (10-25 liberal hippie-type kids). It's been nothing but great fun and group bonding for us. Obviously, there are sexual tones, and people have ended up in the shower more than once...but it's never been an orgy and it's far less formal than these parties sound. And our conversations are always sophisticated in the first place ;] A small party with your closest, bright-eyed idealist friends becomes both a tribe legend and a revolution in itself when it goes naked.
Not much different than co-ed skinny dipping.
Been there, done that--not a big deal!
Wow! It sounds as if #35 is Bill Clinton himself.
STupid Liberals.
Actually, I never went to Yale--i'm at Dartmouth--I was accepted there.
Yale doesn't offer merit-based scholarships, but they do offer need based. And to be honest, I'm not sure what personal wealth Tony Blair has. If he's not personally wealthy, it's quite possible that his government salary qualifies his son as "need based."
Also, individual colleges, from what I understand, have their own aid programs.
And not to be pedantic, but it didn't say whether the aid was from the Uni or from a 3rd party.
"Wow! It sounds as if #35 is Bill Clinton himself."
You do realize that Bill Clinton never lived in Appalachia?
Besides, is that some sort of insult? The comment was better--in substance and style--than your own witty contribution to our talk.
#40: Lighten up.
All these nasty comments about liberals and Ivy Leaguers suggest a little insecurity, no? Trying to get naked around the opposite sex is not a uniquely liberal trait. We are intrigued by the antics of Ivy Leaguers because they are supposed to be uptight nerds. I'm sure that the paper would have been glad to include anecdotes from elite conservative universities if in fact there were any.
#32,
It might be my useless Ivy League education talking, but your post seems to me like the definition of "bitter."
First, no ivy league school is funded by the taxpayers. They're land-grant schools, and that's about the extent of it.
Second, the reason that most students get A's is not grade inflation. Grades are not a stack-rank. It is entirely possible for every student in a course to produce "A work." And it just so happens that the students that get accepted to these schools are, by and large, high achievers with high aptitude. And the whole culture there is just not designed around the "D Student."
Third, please enlighten me: Which ivy league campus have you spent 4 years on, and which of those courses were "shoddy?" Perhaps there is a course offered by a Professor Shoddy, and that's what you meant. Otherwise, I'm forced to think that you're just clueless.
Fourth, it occured to me just now that by "tax payer funded" you meant thru the Federal Student Aid program. Are you suggesting that Ivy League schools not be allowed to accept federal student aid?
Besides, stafford loans are capped at $20k per student. Nobody in America is going to an ivy league school on the Governments dime exclusively. They get the same $20k that you get if you go to Ohio State or South Wanatachee Community College.
Fifth, I'm sure that you make us poor ivy leagues cry rivers when you won't hire us because of our degrees. I've met people like you before. I'm not a psych major but my guess is that there's some inadequacy feelings there.
I am horny under my clothes. I would love to party naked with several Randy dudes
Oh Bob, come on... Just because Bill never lived in Appalacia, doesn't mean that one cannot have his characteristics. Besides, have you ever been to Hope, Arkansas? I have, and it is as redneck as any town can be (I can use the word "redneck" because it describes white people, but I couldn't use any other politically incorrect word, BTW I am caucasian). I was also born in Applachia, and know the similarities.However, I appreciate your contribution to the conversation here. Dartmouth is an outstanding school, and I applaud you for your dedication to your pursuit of the finest education.
I remember back in late 87' maybe early 88' an ex-girlfriend of mine(G.R."Didi"C.) started hosting naked parties in Richmond, Va with friends, VCU students, and various freaks. I believe I attended the 1st one and no others. I also think that after about 6 mo to a year that was that. No more intrest from the people 'cuase we all grew up. As with art, anything new is not. Why does anyone care what inexperianced college "know-it-alls" do. Can anyone say midlife crisis or slow news day!!!At least they will know how to be sophisticated when they are living on the street being hip retro junkies (2009-2010)
nothing more boring then an 18-22 year old calling their own conversations "sophisticated". at that age, you should just be having fun - having fun with your friends and making that girl you like laugh. if music and philosophy come up - great. if you debate politics at a party when you're 20 - you're annoying. that goes for any age really. and it's certainly got gonna get you some.
oh, and i've been friends with many a solid ivy leaguer. but there is nothing more annoying than the ivy leaguer who lets you know how "sophisticated" they are. usually, they're 20 going on 40. sad, really.
Now what will they think of next?Hey when the 1st topless bathing suits came out the world was shocked by the lack of cleavage. Boring and sophmoric nonsense. Besides where would I hide my .45
The naked party is no new phenomenon to us at Colorado College, and the ivys are getting it all wrong. These parties are supposed to be sexual in nature, that's the point. But its no surprise to hear that the elite have "more sophisticated" conversation during such parties, that's just lame and untrue, it sounds like you have some seriously akward conversation. Boners should be a regular occurence as should dancing (maybe not grinding) but dancing to some beats should be happening at any good naked party.
Well, Pete, let me think... Maybe you should trade it in for a .38 snubnose? No? OK, clothes are more sensible.
well, well, naked parties, oh yes, ya know i always wanted to go, however, only because ,,,for the first time usually,,,, a woman can size up a man and hold him accountable for how big he is downstairs, just like men always judge women by their breast size, unfortunatly we as women cant tell untill its to late with a man. if men wore their penis on their chests we could oggle, gawk, snicker, stare and judge them for their god given equiptment! but unfortunatly, only the "pretty people" go to such pre organized parties, orgys result in to many unwanteds. so yes i would go, to secertly oggle, gawk, snicker, stare and judge just like everybody else...rock on,,,,,,lets see what you got guys,,,beause after all, its not the women who will be talked about long after,,, its the guys, women are always on display clothed or not on tv, mags. , movies etc,. its the men who are never exposed sexually like women thats what everyone will be talking about johnny, bobby and frank at the party, and believe me men, you will never live it down once the words out ,,,so think twice befor you go to a naked party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I was young I would have partied naked, but I wouldn't want everyone to always know what I was thinking.
Plus, I'm not an Ivy Leaguer, so they nevery invited me.
Now, I'll just keep my aging body to myself and to my unfortunate wife.
Hoefully they have those "parties" during the summer months because of the "shrinkage" factor in winter......
Yup, Clothes. We had naked parties in the 50s with the Vassar. Smith and Briarwood girls. The penthouse on 57th st over looking the Gugenheim, rocked. Yes and I went to Columbia, the gem of the ghetto.
Oh Pete. Can you say gerbling. These days people put things anywhere. Depending on your lifestyle the .45 may just fit. Sorry if I have offended you. I blame the subject matter and a twisted sense of humor but I think someone could do it an may(uahhh-yuck) enjoy it.
good point - #46. maybe this is all our revisionist view how we were back in college.
while i'm at it - i'll add my own PSA for the fellas. if you want to make the girl you like think you're intelligent - say something insightful in class. at a party - make her laugh - make her part of the fun you bring.
to the rest - if you think you're sophisticated - you're not.
I would buy that pretentious people pretending to be rebelious and important would get together naked and pretend not to be oogling each others goodies from dusk to dawn. But let me be honest, I am a guy and if as some of our commentors have eluded to the larger and more pimply were not invited, that in turn means the female guests are probably smokin' hot. Which in turn also means I certainly would not have my mind (or anything else) on the conversation. It also means I would absolutely look for that shy, yet courious gaze from radom hot female A and seek to loose her of whatever was left of her inhabitions post haste. In closing, any guy who says he went to a naked party and did not have to keep rolling his tounge back into his mouth ever odd 5 moniutes is either gay or a liar
If you're brilliant and have a "big johnson" like me then there is nothing to be timid about. I have been to many of these parties - they are fun. You should consider hosting one.
Hmmmm...this is all truly fascinating. Why so many grudges, folks? Why such disbelief? Pessimism? One-up-manship? Can't you feel even the smallest measure of joy in imagining a group of intelligent young fools shedding their clothes in drunken pursuit of some tribal comraderie, debating the finer points of dialectical materialism in loud voices while engaged in a fierce battle of beer pong? These people aren't trying to get laid...no, this is deeper than that! Of course we'll be hip, retro sophisticates. That's the idea, man. Bohemia, dig it? What better place to discuss art and "newness," Baudrillard and simulation and the disappearance of the real, than in a shower or a hot tub where you can be surrounded by the bodies of those friends with whom you've always experienced the most sublime sexual tension to begin with? Of course, this is over the top. I apologize. But where's the debate here? Come on, folks. Away with this bitter snobbery.
#45
"Besides, have you ever been to Hope, Arkansas? I have, and it is as redneck as any town can be"
Clinton never really lived in Hope. He was born there and that's about it. He grew up in Hot Springs.
#60, you are correct. However, he claimed to have been raised there, simply because of the name. Hot Springs is just down the road, a bit.
In the 60's and 70's a reference was made to BMOC- -big man on campus.
This should help to better determine this.Johnny Carson even remarked when the streaking craze was rampant that we now could know who the big man on campus was.
#42 said: "I'm sure that the paper would have been glad to include anecdotes from elite conservative universities if in fact there were any."
Well, sorry to inform you, but all Ivy League schools were founded by elite conservatives and had their reputations built by them. It's only in the post 60's era that we associate Ivy League with the self monikered "progressive" or "liberal". Liberal, in the classic sense, as in "liberal arts" has no bearing on political background. Liberal referred to "less government/open/wide ranging". My, have times changed.
But naked parties a new college trend? Hardly.
The article states: "rebelling against their colleges' stuffy reputations". That's another funny one. Ivy League schools may have stuffy reputations, but they are anything but. I've attended an Ivy and a "party school" both. The parties at the Ivy were far more outrageous and possible than at the "party school". Also, cops never came to the Ivy to break them up. Fear of reprisal by the influencial, I assume.
What a Farce! It's nothing more than a Peep Show. Throw an All Men's Nude Party and no straight guys will show up.
#43, did your Ivy euducation have no study of statistics? This poor Cal grad will acknowledge your point that the student population is skewed heavily to high achieving "A" graders. But applying the Bell curve to any population will result in a small but equal number of "A's" and "F's" if achievement markers are adusted to reflect population characterics. This adjustment has not been made, thus grade inflation. There will always be poor, better and best "A" performances, which spoiled overachievers cannot accept in the form of traditional letter stepped grades, having spent their entire lives basking in the glow of unearned smiley faces. The workplace sorts it out though, however rudely sometimes. In college, you just go to naked parties. I'm so glad I'm an old fogey.
Perdition is around the corner for our culture.
,,what is the big deal when i was in college we would just have an orgy after the party much more fun,,
Assigning 50% of all grades to be "A's" and graduating 80% with honors at Ivy's because everyone is really-really smart doesn't cut it. Some people expect proof.
Admission nowadays is based on preferences and quotas ranging from race to who-you-know to diversity to legacies, in addition to academic ability.
An Ivy A-average with honors, more likely than not, means nothing.
The students are misled by the grades. When they get out, they are going to deal with the rest of the world, not a bunch of people also getting passed along because it is assumed they are smart.
The people who succeed out of the Ivy's these days are those who succeed despite what goes on there (and probably would have benefitted more elsewhere), not because of it. Ivy tuition is a fraud.
I wouldn't ALLOW my children to go to such schools if they were paid a salary to attend (let alone me pay). The deformation of intellect and character they would experience would degrade the rest of their lives.
Here are some of the wacko course titles, in addition to the general uni-mind, Marxist/left-wing tilt :
The Phallus covers a broad study on the relation “between the phallus and the penis, the meaning of the phallus, phallologocentrism, the lesbian phallus, the Jewish phallus, the Latino phallus, and the relation of the phallus and fetishism.”
Amherst College in Massachusetts offers Taking Marx Seriously: “Should Marx be given another chance?” Students in this class are asked to question if Marxism still has “credibility,” while also inquiring if societies can gain new insights by “returning to [Marx’s] texts.” Coming to Marx’s rescue, this course also states that Lenin, Stalin, and Pol Pot misapplied the concepts of Marxism.
Students enrolled in Adultery Novel read a series of 19th and 20th century works about “adultery” and watch “several adultery films.” Students apply “various critical approaches in order to place adultery i
Even the Romans wore a toga, this is clearly a sanitation issue. I really hope they stay on their feet while attending these events. I'm willing to bet we're talking expensive furniture here. If this group is really politically liberal, opponents, the likes of Karl Rove, will soon have nothing to do.
Ridiculous!
These students are in preparation to be our "elites"?
No wonder Americans are so stiff-necked when it comes to recognizing or honoring elites.
Naked cliques may be important to each other, but not to real Americans.
Let's see: the "intellectual" elite take off their shorts to show their shortcomings, under the banner of an intellectual exercise?
Brilliant, gents! The ladies are oblivious to the plot. Feminism is successfully set back at least three decades!
I Agree with #23, lets have public fornication & in class too. Maybe next we can have skinless parties, or snuff parties, where people kill each other with pickaxes or meat softener mallets. Maybe ejaculation parties to see who can squirt farther. Why not? Its just blowing off steam & in this anything goes world, it sounds good.
What is the point of getting naked if you need to make eye contact? Just have an orgy and get it over with.
Thank God for Global Warming! Otherwise we'd have naked hippies wondering the streets of Ivy League Schools with their eyes poked out!! Hell, for that matter, the people may want to poke there eyes out for what they are seeing! It's a vicious cycle! Like Cartman says, "Damn Hippies!"
What's the big deal? Ever been to some of the resorts in Jamaica? This is a stupid story about some people who are doing what a lot of others already do all over the world.
Get a life!
(singing) It's getting cold in here, so put on all your clothes....I am getting so cold, I wanna put my clothes on!
I wonder if the Naked Partyiers use seat covers??
#73- The jackoff party is an old one. If the grad student sex ed. + anti smoking nut we had teach science for a quarter year in 7th grade can be believed. He used the story of him and some friends, sober we little ones were to asume, trying to "hit the mark" on a plyboy centerfold tape to the back of thier dorm room door. I'm now concerned as I relate this nugget, although there seems to be plenty of confermation that young people like being naked with each other, that we may be all guilty of particpating in a "Jason Blair" styled story. I apoligize for feeding the 'beast'. Kill your tv, cancle your paper, and send your computer to Bill Gates P. O. Box and go fishing!
I wonder if the Naked Partyiers use seat covers?
I was recently accepted to Yale under an Early Action plan (still walking on air...); I was looking on the admits website and I can't find Euan Blair anywhere though I could see Yale leaving his name off the facebook list because of obvious reasons. Also, I don't know what the heck the article is talking about here: "Euan Blair, the Prime Minister's son, has won a scholarship." That makes no sense; Yale only gives need-based schoarships, and I seriously doubt that the PM's son is getting any FinAid. He may have been accepted, true, but winning a scholarship, I think not.
And to the people on here bashing the Ivy League, you seem a bit bitter. I seriously would like to hear (well, read) what you know about the Ivies and Near-Ivies (MIT, Stanford, etc.).
"Admission nowadays is based on preferences and quotas ranging from race to who-you-know to diversity to legacies, in addition to academic ability. "
BS... I am proof. Who do you think "I know" in WV?! And I can assure you that I am not a legacy applicant; also, legacy is only used only as a tie-breaker. By the way, I'm caucasian, so race did not play a role, either. However, they do like to have a diverse class.
Academic ability is THE factor in admission to the Ivies/Near-Ivies. No question. Everything else is padding. Padding is nice and REALLY helps with the admission process, but not needed.
"I wouldn't ALLOW my children to go to such schools if they were paid a salary to attend (let alone me pay). "
The Ivies/Near-Ivies have the BEST FinAid, hands-down. My FinAid package is amazing. They take a look at everyone's finacial situation and then give you enough scholarships so that you and your family can afford it. NO ONE has to turn down a selective college because of inability to pay. NO ONE.
"If you add this to the stories of wild grade inflation at those schools (50% of all grades are A's, 80% graduate wi
Yo 17-18 year old! Do your self a favor. Differ your acceptance 1 maybe 2 years. Go do something real. Do you like working with wood? Go build houses so you can really use the college resources to learn how to build a real estate empire. Like to work on cars? Do it so you can design me a car that gets at lest 36 mpg and does 0-60 in 4.2 when you graduate. You have no idea about the world other than all the adults you know are real proud of you. They should be but your points of referance for your life, what should guide you, hardly have any foundation in real world experiance. You know this, your a smart guy!
The previous post was for #81. I thought I should let him know.
#43, how 'bout no federal student aid,period. That's what I'm saying 'bob.
Welcome to naturism!! There are thousands of people all world that do this every day and/or whenever they can and they don't always get drunk either. As a long-time practitioner of naturism, I can vouch for the life-changing quality of being able to socialize without the pretense of fabric and labels. Party on guys and google naturism if you're interested in nude recreation after graduation!!
this article is PLAGIARIZED from the New York Times. Rachel Aviv reported a story and Craig Howie ripped him off 12 hours later. This is a crime.See the NYT article:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/education/edlife/07nake...
Hi LukeFromWV, (post #81) Wow! I was you 20 years ago, accepted to the school of my dreams, on scholarship, and ended up interning and then working at the United Nations and on Wall Street. I too thought thought I knew everything. Then reality hits. You are far too young and inexperienced to know the real world yet. One lesson I can give you from my own is this: until you are about 25, keep quiet, look, learn, listen and RESPECT those around you. You can learn much from others. Without respect and having a "know it all" attitude you will mess up or be forced out of where ever you end up. My wake up was on 9/11 and thank God I was late for work that day! It was through this that I learned where I went to school, where I had worked, living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan-it didn't matter! It's all window dressing. I returned home and am now with my family, just living. My motto changed from "I know everything and am better than the 'regular' people!" to "God, just let me have another day to breath, relax and enjoy life, one day at a time." Best of luck to you.
As a baby boomer who went back to college, I found that most 18-22 year olds lack the life experience to have very sophisticated conversations. They may try, but they come off as sounding vapid. Add intoxicants and they're a lot of fun to listen to.As for the thought of them maintaining eye contact, give me a break. They may not be looking at the body of the person they're talking to, but you know the eyes are wandering. If they say otherwise, they're lying through their teeth.
#88, well said.
#82, funny you should mention carpentry. My father built, by hand, nearly all of the house that I live in now, and I helped him out A LOT in the constuction. Also, I'm wrapping up my Eagle Scout project which was building a pavilion on a local trail system. I was there for EVERY day of work driving nails, hanging rafters, staining the lumber, etc; I helped with nearly every component of the project. Carpentry is something that I have little interest, much less, talent, in, but I def. have lots of "real" experience. I feel that I'm quite ready for the next steps in life. I do thank you the compliment...
#88, I can assure you that I don't think I know everything (in fact, that attitude came through in the post of #68 and #32) or feel that I am any "better" than anybody else. Absolutely not. If I came off that way in my post, I sincerely appologize; that was def. NOT what I intended. I do tend to get quite arguementative with posts like these (the one political message board that I used to go to is much more, err, intense than these comments). Though I realize that an unintended attitude came through, I still stand by every word I typed, and I feel that this is one area that I am def. knowledgable enough to debate.
Also, you must feel unexplainably lucky, no, blessed, to have come to work late that day. I can't even imagine...
As for your advice, thank you very much, but I would be inclined to think that that advice is applicable for someone's entire life insted of being limited to the ages of 18-25. I agree with a lot of the ideas behind that statement, but I have never let my young age (some may falsely assume that youth = inexperience and ignorance) stop me from anything, espeacially expressing my opinion.
And thank you for the wishes of good luck: I'll need all that I can get!
What's the point if you can't look. If somebody is naked, you gonna check them out. If their all getting naked and talking more sophisticated, then they are more stuffy and pent up then we all think.
Also, I have to say this: Don't play up the connection between age and inteligence. It's not that strong. I know plenty of people older than me who are dumb as a box of hammers, and I know plenty of people younger than me who know twice as much as I do. Don't judge inteligence based age; judge inteligence based on inteligence.
Hear! Hear!
Infants, in their birthday-suits, in the Ivy.
What an incredible smell you've discovered!
It really relieves a burdon within my heart to know that there is such a fine calibur of pornography as this is upon this world wide web.
How fortunate it is for the rest of us that the astute Limeys are here to report on this crap from all the way across the big blue sea.
Let's all just go ahead and agree to "get a life."
(Especially all you infants, in birthday-suits, in the Ivy!)
Move along knucklehead, move along...
This article is pure titillation and almost no reality. I graduated from an Ivy League college not so long ago and the claim that "naked parties" are a widespread occurance is preposterous. During my years in school I saw a lot of wacky things but from my experience the idea that a bunch of young women would casually get naked and attend a party with a bunch of naked young men defies belief.
I also am an eagle scout and thought that I didn't have talent for alot of things. You add in a non-intrest in performing with in the bounds of the one size fits all educational system (that has gotten so bad that poor students would rather risk poorly educating thier own kids then leting someone they don't know screw 'em up) and I should not have achieved what I have. It sucked getting to where I am and it's been up one day and down the next. I have had to force what I've got out of the world, make it from scratch. You have more talent than you know and sure dad makes sure his stuff looks ten times better than yours. He's only been practicing the skill long than you've been alive.Just try alot of things before you find yourself doing what you love as a hobby when if you'd only known, you'd be doing it for a livingOh by the way, it's true; youth = inexperience and ignorance. Only because you are lacking experience and by the definition of the word( look it up) full of ignorance.
Years ago, at the University of Michigan, every spring they held the running of the Naked Mile. Eventually there were more photographers than runners. And something easy to notice: after consuming mostly pizzas for a year, and with far more time spent at the library than the gym, most of the students were 10-20 pounds overweight or more. It was not pretty.
So I'm strongly in favor of lots more naked parties... if it encourages the boys and girls to get in shape and stay in shape. Healthier for all.
#81, I wouldn't ALLOW my children to go to Yale if Yale paid them, let alone use my money. The deformation of intellect and character they would experience would degrade the rest of their lives.
I'd fight it as hard as if they were going into a cult.People that age simply are not mentally equipped to withstand what's pressed on them and distinguish real from garbage.
These schools are living off high-standard glory days long past. They are trash now.
What's my experience? Well, 38 years of life, hiring/firing/dealing with Ivy's in the workplace.
A friend went to MIT, I to "state" ... at the end of the first year we got together and found we had about 70% of the same texbooks, but his tests were slam-dunk easy, and graded even more easily. It was a joke what he got A's for.
Other friends went to Dartmouth; came back enraged about the alcoholism and don't have anything to do with the school. Friends that went to Harvard and Brown have disappeared off the face of the Earth, although I heard 3rd hand the guy from Brown lost his initial big-time job because of a cocaine habit he developed somehow (never would have forseen that in high school, what a pity).
I'm sure you think getting accepted to Yale is a huge validation. Just think how much bigger it would be if you declined, went to a school that believes in academics instead of "progressive politics" and "diversity", and succeeded in the world on your merits.
If you think you can't succeed or learn without having the "prestige" of a big name behind you, you are already on a lower path. Because what's prestige but a belief in quality without having to prove it?
Must be a slow newsday................ So what, American universities have be producing perverts who behave like dogs for the past 40 years.
This article is a rip off of a New York Times article from this Sunday. Shame! They should do to this writer what they do to plagiarists in Lithuania.
I went to Yale, and while I loved it, can't say there were many girls there I would want to see at a naked party. Now Smith girls are another matter - they are hot, horny and bisexual.
As far as those making comments about the radical and easy coursework - maybe a few courses like those exist, but I didn't encounter any of them or maybe you are thinking of Harvard. The work was the hardest I did in my three degrees and the quality of my fellow students the highest.
Dude. You're obviously a little unsure yourself of Ivy League admissions policies.
First, let's clear something up. Calling schools like Stanford and MIT "near-Ivies," while forgivable as part of your obvious excitement over acceptance to Yale (congratulations, by the way), is still both insulting and incorrect.
MIT is the most renowned engineering and science school in the world. Stanford is not only more respected as an undergraduate institution than all but the top three Ivies (and some would say even those as well), Chicago is the most demanding of the top schools, and CalTech is easily the most selective. That is, if you don't count West Point or Annapolis - anyone who gets in and makes it through has my respect, which isn't true of any other school.
Now, for the admissions process.
Any chance being from West Virginia helped you? I don't mean to insult your state, but there were more merit scholars and AP scholars each in several competitive high schools in states like MA, NY, NJ, MD, TX, CA, etc. than in the entire state of West Virginia. Considering the emphasis each Ivy places on geographical diversity, be reasonably confident that there are many students from competitive private schools such as Exeter and Choate, and public high schools in Long Island and northern New Jersey, whose academic and extracurricular activities would make them a stronger candidate absent your geographical advantage.
Ask yourself - are you currently taking several AP courses, have (close to) perfect boards, strong extracurriculars, and have otherwise done something to distinguish yourself from the pools of thousands of otherwise perfect but not exceptional students applying to Ivy League schools? If not, thank your state.
Oh - and for grade inflation. It only hurts you. When (if) you apply to graduate school, a 3.7 from a school with a notorious curve like fellow Ivy UPenn (especially Wharton), Chicago, or a highly comp
"People that age simply are not mentally equipped to withstand what's pressed on them and distinguish real from garbage."
Don't make broad judgements; I'm sure you don't know every person that age; therefore, don't make conclusions about them all. Yes, regardless of what you might think, there are some 18-22 year-old out there who have two brain cells to rub together...
"They [the Ivies] are trash now."
That's just not true. Simple. As. That.
"Other friends went to Dartmouth; came back enraged about the alcoholism and don't have anything to do with the school. "
lol, Dartmouth was the inspiration for Animal House... TOGA! TOGA!
"although I heard 3rd hand the guy from Brown lost his initial big-time job because of a cocaine habit he developed somehow (never would have forseen that in high school, what a pity)."
That is a shame. But this goes for all your examples: Don't make judgements about everyone who went/goes to Ivies/Near-Ivies based on these experiences. These examples show that it didn't work out for the best for these specific people, not that ALL Ivy Leaguers are "stupid fools."
"I'm sure you think getting accepted to Yale is a huge validation"
Well, I believe its a good thing, but I don't believe that I'm any better than anyone else for it.
"went to a school that believes in academics instead of "progressive politics" and "diversity", and succeeded in the world on your merits."
Show me a quote of Yale/other Ivy endorsing "progressive politics." Trust me, they are way to PC to say that. And before you call me a bleading-heart liberal, I am a HUGE conservative. Also, they believe that people can learn a lot from people with different backgrounds, as do I. They won't let in an unqualified person just b/c he/she is a minority, but they do keep diversity reasonably in mind. And p
"First, let's clear something up. Calling schools like Stanford and MIT "near-Ivies," while forgivable as part of your obvious excitement over acceptance to Yale (congratulations, by the way), is still both insulting and incorrect. "
That's just a term I've heard in other places (a couple college guide books); maybe a more accurate term would be "Practically Ivies" or "Might as Well be Ivies" -- believe me, I know the quality of Stanford, MIT, and UChicago (which I considered for a time)
(congratulations, by the way)
thanks :)
"Any chance being from West Virginia helped you? "
It DEF didn't hurt...lol I know this for sure. No offense taken, BTW. I have the things you listed (except my school doesn't have much in the way of AP classes, mostly college/dual credit courses which make up nearly all of my schedule)
I went to Dartmouth in the 1980s, and I have a few observations about the previous posts:
1) Stop decrying the classes offered at Ivy league schools, and then using Amherst as your example. Amherst is not Ivy league, not even close.(P.S, M.I.T. is not Ivy league either)
2) I am liberal. Almost nobody at Dartmouth was. So this idea that everyone at Ivy league colleges is some weirdo liberal is sadly not true.
3) I tried to find joke classes at Dartmouth. The only ones I found were in the Drama department, and there were only two of them.
4) Nobody was ever getting naked at Dartmouth when I was there, unless they were dating someone from the town, or from an all-women's college.
Just keep that in mind. There's probably a more qualified student than you who got denied because s/he is from Long Island or New Jersey.
There's also a kid far less qualified than you who got in because daddy broke open the checkbook. There's nothing wrong with it - if one underqualified student gets in on legacy but his parents' contribution covers the (need-based) scholarship of five deserving students, it's a fair tradeoff in the world of reality.
My point is that, while ON AVERAGE the caliber of students may be higher, the disparity is not as great as you realize. Enjoy the opportunity, but keep in mind your competition isn't Harvard and Princeton - it's also people from schools you wouldn't think twice about going to.
And in 5-10 years, you'll be trying to convince people your Yale degree means much when Beijing U. and Bangalore students (who beat out far greater competition for their academic opportunities) are going against you for the same jobs.
Most of the people who make these arguments aren't taking hard majors.
I speak from bias, but I'd rather have a strong math or CS student from a well-respected (but not close to Ivy) school working for me than a star history or government major from any Ivy League school.
The hard sciences are pretty much the same everywhere, except the class goes faster depending on the institution. Good students are good thinkers regardless of the institution.
Maybe in a softer major, institution matters.
I wasn't disparaging schools that were not Ivies, just the sloppiness of people criticizing Ivy league course offerings and then citing non-Ivy schools. I have long believed that in math and sciences, most state universities are probably better than the Ivies with better facilities. But you have to be disciplined when selecting classes if you go there, because they do have Aerobics for Credit at those schools.
KellyReysterTX, why are all Texas Republicans self-parodies like you?
That's fine - as I watch the national championship I'm reminded of Kiddie Lit and other wonderful state-school offerings of that variety common among students pursuing non-academic interests at a large state institution.
I can say that my university would rank in the middle of the Ivies as a math/science school. I'm a grad student now, but I can say that in the "real world" people do recognize major as well as institution; otherwise, the top jobs would go exclusively to Ivy Leaguers. Obviously, they don't.
naked party at my house tonight
How mindless. Think of it: how many hundreds of years did it take western civilization to develop forms of etiquette, social standards, and to highten and elevate civility and the sense of decency and propriety? In all of Europe and the US the marks of the well-bred and socially esteemed in our cultures and civilizations are the elevated forms of social etiquette and manners (folks, it is not always the money a person comes from). All to have it thrown out the window by these disgusting morons in the name of - what?! - liberation? Confidence? Self-discovery? These are leaders? They are fools, all of them. And the daughter of a US President participated? How personally slovenly. Not just for her, for all of them. These people will never lead anybody or anything. They lack the moral insight and capacity.
Oh, where do I begin? The unintentional comedic content here is off the scale, ditto irony.
We've got blueblood punks in 2007, vapidly parrotting the '60s conformist-password "hip, extolling the joys of ignored hygiene ("scents,") drooling bodily fluids ("secretions,") and, presumably, obesity and hyperpilosity ("curves and hair,") while experiencing the "mystique" of nudism shorn of even the '60s "free love" sexual element out of dutiful conformity to PC asexuality... all under the banner of "progressivism!"
Yet another testament to the cultivated stupidity that now passes for Ivy League "higher education":
These budding scholars haven't figured out that they are the most neolithic and prudish of conservatives in the entire political spectrum.
The term "liberal" is derived from the same root as "liberty" - therefore "liberal" properly would denote "advocate of liberty." Yet here is the spectacle of comedically-misnamed "liberals" self-imprisoned in a forty-year-old time warp - having the audacity to cast themselves as rebels...!
You can't make this stuff up, folks.
Particularly amusing is the pretense of divorcing nudity from sexuality, indeed of sexuality from human nature. We've merely had "parts... dealt sexual connotations." [
These craven little conformists are direct *exponents* of contemporary establishment, not exceptions to it. They are the most consistent intellectual products of the monolithic '60s left that currently infests academia, media and most of Congress. So personal stench is "hip," human sexuality is but a conditioned veneer, nudity is vital - but only if one simultaneously emulates a particularly repressed and sullen version of Carry Nation or Comrade Sonia, collectivism remains as "hip" as B.O. some seventeen years beyo
This is new? Every generation believes it invented the wheel.
Naked college parties ... I remember a couple fairly well. When I was at MIT back thirty some years ago a fraternity, since delisted, held these every other year for the MIT community. In a barn outside Boston. Each couple was given a square yard of cloth to make costumes, with a door-prize for the couple returning the most fabric. The punch was made with some fruit juice, lab grade alcohol and glycerin - which covered the taste of the ethanol and coated the stomach for a bit. Once a little of the glycerin was digested, however, the alcohol shot thru everyone about the same time. The costumes fell off. It was a profound orgy. When I finally found my date, we had both screwed countless others. It was a wonderful outlet from the pressures we were under. The BBC documented this in an effort to stop the brain-drain, but my guess is it was counter-productive. My only recommendation to the students holding these naked parties today is to forget the intellectual discussions and have a lot of drunken sex.
Alternative hypothesis:
"Naked parties" aren't a pseudo-intellectual, pretentious form of unintentional conformity.
They're just a way of overstressed students who've been under pressure since grade school saying "there's one less thing we have to care about if we just lay it all out there (literally)."
It's not as if they were being advertised as some sort of political statement; they're just advertised as a way to do something slightly different which doesn't involve binge drinking.
I haven't been to one, but the unnecessarily vicious attacks seem geared more at the institution of Ivy League education than at the particular behavior in question.
If you have a problem with top educational institutions, why not just say what's really bothering you?
I'm at Cornell and know of no such things, but maybe it's because I'm an engineer. What is the big deal. News flash, it went on before the sixties, too. The ancients could put any of us to shame.
Thanks for the tragicomic rants, pseudo-conservatives. You have been trained to resent the 'Ivy league liberal elite' who are mostly random kids most of whom were unlaid and nerdy in high school and may now want to blow off some steam. Somehow this rebelliousness manifests as support for those who ended the inheritance tax, cut dividend taxes well below those on actual work, paid oil companies tax money to drill oil, put capital gains taxes well below taxes on actual work, and, oh, final insult, deceived you into sending your children off to 'cakewalks' to be 'met with flowers'. Way to see through the scams of 'elite' people like me.
No raunchy comments, no staring, no sexual comments? Oh please. Yeah right. While its true I know nothing about this (other than what the article says) its obvious this stuff happens. And the people who attend these types of things arent exactly prudes. I bet, while not allowed, its tolerated. And the people in charge know this is going on. They just dont want to tell the media whats really happening. If people under 21 drink at frat and sorority parties then you know staring, sexual contact, etc. happens at these 'naked parties'.
Pray tell, did the reporter have to attend these parties to get the scoop, or is it all hearsay?
Just had to add for sue dan's (51) enlightenment, that unfortunately we men have a greater disadvantage at a party of this type... some of us get the benefit of more "inflation" during arousal than others. I will admit in the nude and unaroused I am decidedly substandard, but my physiology results in a quite astonishing change under the right ministrations... *lol* No complaints yet... So when at a party of this type, the loss of the padded uplifting bra reveals the truth, but the intellectual conversation will not allow an accurate comparison of the men...
And for those who say this is so progressive, something the 'intellectual crowd' does, i bet the NOW (National Org. for Women) crowd feels like picketing this, not attending this. Theres 2 types of femists, really: The NOW-types and bohemian types. Many bohemians would be into this but NOW feminists would think 'this only makes women look like sexual objects'.
And even the ones who arent engaging in sexual stuff, talking about sex, and doing dirty dancing are at least staring at others when theyre by theirselves. And on yeah theyre just gonna walk by with their heads way down. or if they are lookin at someones parts when walking by theyre not gonna think 'oh, a breast...okay.' And I bet the male-female ratio is astounding.
Americans are silly, aren't they? Obsessed with bottoms and such. They come on to Scottish newspaper websites, probably because there aren't any US ones, and prattle on. Dude.
hey deemac of course the beautiful people will not turn up coz they haven't produced designer skin without surgery yet
You want to scare your neighbors dog, show him a picture of a naked Liberal!!!
From my days in the boonies of Northern Cali, I've learned to enjoy being naked with other strangers similarly non-attired. I still find myself at beaches when geographically and meterologically able. Reading all the critics of naked parties @ the Ivy League in the states, don't you guys realize Frat & Sorority parties have always been meant to become naked parties at some point even when not starting out that way?
I like the idea of lack of pretense and starting out starkers. I'd vote for throwing some kegs in the mix and throwing out pretensions of keeping one's eyeballs up. A good time had by all, & proper precautions taken sounds like a perfect way to deal with the stress of modern day. Hurrah. Now, if I were only young and good lookin' enuff that they'd still let me into a nekkid kegger.
oh well, party on all you naked liberal conservative radical elites and commoners...
What? Nobody's heard of the "Girl's Gone Wild" video series? It is pretty much ALL college kids on spring break. If they'll do it while out on the town, whats to stop them from doing the same thing on (any) campus, especially in these morally permissive times?
How amusing! The sons and daughters of America's elite are now sooo bored that they have decided to discard their clothing in order to party well? It's no wonder, then, that the words "Yank" and "wank" rhyme.
The part of this story I found ironic is that these kids want to shed the norms of society -- but then they have to "maintain eye contact", somehow forgetting that the taboo of nudity is still in tact if you can't enjoy it once you're doing it. If I still have to essentially avert my eyes, I'm admitting that the nudity is somehow off-limits.
It's classic US Liberal double-speak: we want to give you the sexual liberty to do nothing at all.
the whole point of being young is to experiment, learn new ways to think of the world and your surroundings. let these kids play now, liberal and conservitive (yes,they are playing too). this is how i learned what i believe in, what i feel comfortable with, who i am away from my family, what i want to stand for. at least these kids aren't bound up in fear at age 18. i think they stand a good chance of maturing into adults who can see the world from many points of view. i also have the feeling that ivy leaguers work very hard and the pressure is intense.
I have nothing pertinent to add, but I feel that only a true ninja with stealthy skills can resolve this problem, preferably with throwing stars, a grappling hook and that book, "Are You There, God--It's Me Margaret."
"They're just a way of overstressed students who've been under pressure since grade school saying "there's one less thing we have to care about if we just lay it all out there (literally)."
It's not as if they were being advertised as some sort of political statement; they're just advertised as a way to do something slightly different which doesn't involve binge drinking."
Well, I'd buy this if not for the fact that (a) they apparently ARE uncomfortable with it, given the remarks of some in the article, and (b) they DID advertise it as a political statement. Hence the, "Compadres, join us in refusing to comply with a culture that tells us to hide our body, to be ashamed of its scents, secretions, curves and hair, to conceal those parts that have been dealt sexual connotations."
This is just the typical bohemian desire to bash the bourgeois, making no concessions to the blindingly apparent fact that students at Ivy League campuses ARE the new bourgeois. I'm sure they must feel very chic, shedding their clothes at an outrageously expensive school that no ordinary people could be expected to attend.
The real story here is that the Ivy Leaguers are decades behind the rest of the world. Non-Ivys have been getting naked at parties forever. But congratulations on these "intellectuals" making news. Ugh.
i'm sorry, but does no one care that this article was plagiarized from the new york times?
At Princeton, Donald Rumstead's, alma mater, a sophomore naked romp in the snow was and annual rite for some 20 years. I had to learn about that through a British newspaper site, too.Our media elites are somewhat considerate of the feelings of wealthy alumni of these schools, some of whom may own the paper or station.
Just one more thing to convince Americans that the highly rated, highly priced "ivy league" schools are highly over-rated. They are taught this garbage and this attitude by the liberal faculty that permeate these universities, and organizations like NOW have helped bring us this 'free' sex philosophy. Look at what is presented to the world in our movies, televisions shows, newsapers.....gang mentality, sex with anyone and anywhere and at any age, no respect for anything including human life. This is just more of the same. My Mother came to the USA from Scotland as a little girl and was proud to be a Scot and an American.
This behavior doesn't make me particularly proud as an American.
Uh, 136, no I don't think anyone does care.
What I find most peculiar about this article is that the young Mr. Blair is apparently considering attending university in the States. Is it not common knowledge that British universities are far superior to their American counterparts? (I say this as an American, by the way.)
Is the young Mr. Blair thick or something? Is he unable to gain admittance to university in Britain? I find this much more troubling than the blather about the naked parties.
The last thing that the Ivy league colleges do anymore is provide a 21st century education. The Asians are becoming far more educated than we are and will surpass us in world dominance. If you need proof of this just read anything on the internet and see how poorly we spell and use the language. Most people can't even figure out when to use "me" or "I" in a sentence, i.e. "The doctor gave John and I a shot." Wrong! Duhhhh! Our youth is our future and it's not looking good!
#120: the reporter obviously didn't attend the parties because he plagiarized it.
Maybe we could scare the terrorists with a video of "Naked Liberals Run Amuk". Beware: There are some shortcomings on the video.
- How did a story about nothing generate this much conversation?- Does anyone REALLY believe these are as common or well attended as those who have posted or written an article on would have us to believe? C'mon, you know that EVERY story gets better with each telling....it's called "glory days".- I pitty those of the "get drunk and sleep around" persuasion. Scientific studies have shown that the FEWER partners one has the more one enjoys sexual intimacy when in a monogomous relationship.- Get off the Ivy grads, if you think them pompus and self inflating pretenders who look down their nose at commoners then your as bad as what you accuse them of by you stereo typing of them.- Lastly, no I am not an Ivy. I went to a small Christian School in Indiana. It was the right school for me, I got a good education, made great friends and enjoyed my stay. Any spelling or gramatical errors are not a reflection of my education as much as my dyslexia and overall poor performance in English classes.
Though this may not sound so "intelligent" to most ofyou. I felt it had to be said.
Worry about you. Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Live your life, not others lives. Stop trying to tell people what is right and wrong in there lives. Worry about what is right and wrong in your life.
I usually just read these for knowledge, or to learn what is going on in the world. Current events etc....
But, you liberals, conservatives, geeks, nerds, hippies, beatniks and whatever else you are, need to learn one thing.
LIVE YOUR LIFE! NOT Everyone elses.
If you like drinking, who the hell am I to tell you that you should not be drinking. If you like sitting in your reclyner nude to watch a baseball game, who the hell am I to tell you that is gross (just dont tell me you do that when I come over to visit please). If you like reading little nudie books, who the hell am I to tell you should not be doing that.
I live my life, I take care of my family. I don't expect you to take care of them for me. And I certainly don't expect you to tell the rest of the world what they should or shouldn't do.
I really can't decide what's more absurd--this obviously bogus, hyperbolic article or the flurry of enraged responses it has provoked. As a Harvard student, I can attest to the fact that these naked parties are nonexistent, or at least so rare as to be negligible. So it's not as if we're all going around engaging in mindless hedonistic sex romps that we learned from our parents' generation. Sexual repression is back in vogue, and most Ivy League students wouldn't be caught dead at a naked party--mainly because most of us are pimply, fat, and unattractive to various degrees. As for this tool who keeps on maintaining that he would never send his kids to any Ivy League school, and then writes all these schools off on the flimsiest of anecdotal evidence (his friend's coke problem? HA!)...he is so obviously deluded, bitter, and probably insecure. First of all, while most professors and students tend to be a little to the left of mainstream, Harvard is a far cry from the bete noir of Marxist indoctrination he thinks it is. I've studied all the dead white men of the western canon--Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton, the Metaphysical Poets, Plato, Joyce, etc etc. 99% of us have never taken a class on the phallus or whatever--and while we do have some silly "queer studies" classes, we also have an abundance of legitimate, intellectually enriching ones. Second of all, grade inflation is one of the biggest myths propagated by anti-Ivy League zealots. People here are for the most part incredibly bright, and we all work our asses off. An A is not easy to come by at all--I don't know where he got that statiistic about fifty percent of grades being As, but it's patently false. It's true that it is very rare to get below a B, but the courses are no cake walk. So everyone should chill out, let their dicks get flaccid again, and realize that Ivy League students aren't the degenerate, sexually insatiable commie-pinkos you think we are. We're just regular people wh
The claim that people who criticize Ivy's do so because they are bitter and insecure is a delusion, apparently based on the idea "what I have is so great, the only possible reason anyone could criticize it is envy". How would you know if you were wrong?
Ever read the childhood fable "The Emperor's New Clothes"?
What if what you have isn't so great and there are people who look at the evidence and conclude you are being scammed into indentured servitude the rest of your life by some very wicked, very clever people?
The schools deserve criticism because they are poor schools focused on political indoctrination specifically designed to subvert society.
As far as grade inflation, this is what the American Academy of Arts & Sciences reports:
* In 1966, 22% of Harvard undergraduate students earned A's. By 1996, that figure rose to 46%. That same year, 82% of Harvard seniors graduated with honors.
* In 1973, 31% of all grades at Princeton were A's. By 1997 that rose to 43%. In 1997, only 12% of all grades given at Princeton were below the B range.
For more information, trying doing a Google search on something like 'ivy league grade inflation'. Lots of stories.
Well if you'd been following the news lately, you'd know that Princeton has implemented some stringent new measures to crack down on "grade inflation" and harvard has significantly reduced the percentage of its students who can graduate with honors. Moreover, if you compare classes at Ivy League schools with the classes at other colleges (with the exception of UChicago, Stanford, MIT, and a few dozen others, mainly northeastern liberal arts schools), you'd find that the classes are a great deal more challenging and rigorous. And yes I did read Claire Messud's novel, it was excellent and I think she would cringe with embarassment if she knew goons like you were using it to fuel your delusional conspiracy theories about the Ivy League/the "liberal intelligentsia" in general. The book was very sad, but also a comedy of manners; it was an indictment of generational narcissism and vacuity, but it wasn't supposed to be a protocols of zion type expose of the sinister liberal ruling class. I'm not saying that Harvard is the best place in the universe; there are many great schools out there. But your contention that it is a poor school is ridiculous. What's your idea of a good school? Harvard probably has the best faculty in the world, and a top-notch student body full of relatively diverse, very talented people. The most inane part of your criticism is when you claim that ivy league schools are meant to indoctrinate its students with subversive ideals. Why, then, is the ruling elite of our country almost consistently comprised of Ivy League grads? Most students here will become lawyers, doctors, and I-bankers...all very traditional, status quo professions. It's abundantly clear that you have no clue what you're talking about; you're just another crackpot conspiracy theorist with an irrational grudge against the "liberal elites."
Hmm, this article makes me wonder if I should quit sending money. Not that I object to the nakedness, just the theoretical underpinnings.
#34,39,81 - Yes, the University may only give need based scholarships but there are any number of alumni funded special purpose scholarships which may or may not be need based. Some administered by the residential colleges, others by various departments, etc.
#43 - Well, I wouldn't say it was pervasive but there were "Shoddy" professors at Yale, at least when I went there. My "Physiology of Behavior" prof only talked about bats - he did warn us in our first class that he would be doing that and if we objected, well, he said "I'm tenured so I don't care". He was also the DUS which didn't sit well with me. Of course this was in 1977 so things might be different now.
#34 - I agree the furniture was horrendous and might have had "chocolate kisses" to begin with. Ick.
#101 - Personally I believe you can get a perfectly good education at most colleges and Universities. It's really up to the student to determine what he/she gets out of a particular college or university. The only benefit of an Ivy League education is the diploma and future connections. My company CEO went to Brown and tends to favor new employees from "name" Universities. Quite frankly this has had mixed success, but in my profession, intelligence is not a survivor trait.
Actually, the fact that you and many others are so titillated by stupid articles like this is evidence of a morbid, bipolar obsession with Ivy League schools. You can demonize them all you want, but what you're actually doing is making them out to be a lot more important than they are. Is it that you got rejected from one of them and then went on a lifelong crusade against them as a defense mechanism? I wish you'd spend a single day on an actual Ivy League campus. You'd discover that we're just normal people of many different socioeconomic, political, and religious stripes. Sure there are some fatuous pseudo-leftist students, but most of them will grow up and become normal members of society. We are not, I assure you, hatching plans for some Marxist/atheist revolution to overthrow civilization as we know it. That's just a masturbatory fantasy of paranoid people like you.
the last comment was for 148, not you rhony. and i agree that it really is a matter of personal autonomy; you can get a great education at a state school and a bad education at an ivy. it all depends what you put into it.
