Radar Magazine slams Chico State….
I love this magazine, let me make that clear at the outset. They are usually right on the money with their observations, and I rely on them to have their finger on the pulse of pop culture.
Thats why I read with dismay that they chose Chico State University (CSUC), my old Alma Mater, as the runner up Campus for the Most Degenerate Student Body. Of course, if you go by its past reputation as Playboy’s number 1 party school, how can you argue? They detail their methodolgy as follows:
We started by gathering statistics on academic offerings, admissions, and student life from a diverse array of sources, including Princeton Review, U.S. News, and the U.S. Department of Education. Then we factored in criteria like low SAT scores, incompetent professors, rock-bottom admissions standards, unbridled alcohol and drug consumption, rampant criminal activity, and dubious alumni. To complete the picture, we added reviews from online outlets like Students Review, Campus Dirt, and College Prowler. Finally, we tallied up the numbers in a variety of categories, ranging from worst Ivy to worst party school, and of course, the very worst college in the country.
Here, CSUC is tied with San Diego State University for worst party school (the magazine says “most depraved student body). Wouldnt the folks at Playboy be shocked at how far we’ve fallen:
Worst Party School: (Tie) California State University, Chico; San Diego State University
While Chico is the most notorious party college on the planet—69 students were arrested on St. Patrick’s Day two years ago—on average, a full 15 percent of them actually manage to graduate in four years. At San Diego State, a paltry 14 percent are able to accomplish this goal. Both schools deserve special recognition for high-level achievement in the field of depravity and general disinterest in scholastic pursuits.
Illustrious Alumni: Chico lays claim to good-time-guy novelist Raymond Carver (who graduated elsewhere) and bare-knuckled political consultant Ed Rollins, while SDSU graduated disgraced former CIA executive director Kyle “Dusty” Foggo and oft-disrobed former C-movie actress Raquel Welch (right). Too close to call.
Notable Courses: While Chico may have SDSU licked in the category of anecdotal debauchery, the latter offers a class titled Challenges of Leisure (“the study of leisure and its impact on contemporary life … issues affecting recreation in today’s urbanized society”), formerly Recreation 204. And we have to respect that kind of rigor.
School Pride: “I started to worry when you could smell alcohol permeating from my pores,” one Chico student told Playboy.com. “You can go to Mexico and get wasted, you can go to the beach and get wasted, or just stay in the city and of course get wasted,” writes an anonymous SDSU sophomore on Students Review.
Fun Facts: The [SDSU} forensics team had its 2006 season canceled after members were caught doing coke on school-sponsored trips. Last year, Phi Kappa Tau was suspended for using Chico coeds in hardcore pornographic movies that were filmed in their frat house and then sold on the Internet. The festivities included a game called “pussy ring toss,” the objective of which is to hook a ring over a dildo, which is held in a woman’s vagina.
Raw Data: The porn movies reportedly earned more than $100,000, though the filmmakers were expelled. Chico State should consider renaming its business school after its most accomplished entrepreneurs.
Tuition: Chico, $3,690 in-state ($13,860 out-of-state); SDSU, $3,176 in-state ($13,346 out-of-state); plus room and board.
******************************************************************************************************************
All quite humiliating. I remember the days when Playboy magazine touted Chico State as the #1 party college. I remember Pioneer days which made national news when Chico police cars were burned during the festivities. But thats not the Chico State I know…. I wont deny that St Patricks day is a huge party day in Chico. Or Halloween. But Im sure I wasnt alone in making my education a priority. And perhaps contrary to the norm, I completed my stint in 3 1/2 years instead of 4. Chico State is a beautiful campus and there is a very active environmental presence there. Diversity is embraced and tolerance is encouraged. There is a feeling of being a part of a macrocosm there, since the campus is so beautifully built around the natural features of the creeks and huge sycamores and the various exotic plants that Annie Bidwell planted so long ago. In fact, Chico State’s very proximity to the Historic home of John and Annie Bidwell reminds us daily of their legacy. Chico is an oasis of culture in a relatively remote location. Chico State is a huge part of that fact.
I am proud to say I had conscientious professors, challenging classes, and only a marginal brush with the nighlife (I will say that Duffy’s Tavern on a friday night is the ONLY place to be in Chico in my opinion). I am a CSUC alumni, I graduated Cum Laude, and I guess, like anything, you find what you LOOK for. Too bad Radar didnt look beyond the bars. or the Playboy magazine. Chico is so much more.
and I told them so, on their site.
Its ALL Blarney!! 