USC’s social scene poses a threat to intellectuality

I find it disheartening I can’t recall the last time I was intellectually engaged in conversation by another USC student, on his or her own initiative.

The University of Southern California easily exemplifies academic honor and prestige to the prospective freshman student. The embedded reputation of USC as a well-rounded university with a renowned Cinema and Journalism school and popular athletics, coupled with its coveted location in sunny Los Angeles, attracts an abundance of prospective students. Moreover, USC’s competitive acceptance rate (17.8% as of 2014) elicits applications from the academically tenacious.

Given USC’s ostensibly competitive admission process (and presuming it’s honest), I often beg the question:

How the hell did so many complacent thinkers get here?

By complacent thinkers, I’m alluding to the substantial amount of students with zero intellectual ambition. I use this label to ensure I don’t discredit the probable “book smarts” of these students — after all, they did make the formidable cut of acceptance.

By complacent thinkers, I’m alluding to the portion of students with weak intellectual ambition. I use this label to ensure I don’t discredit the probable “book smarts” of these students—after all, they did make the formidable cut of acceptance. But beyond the classroom, it seems these students lack ambition to expand their aggregation of knowledge, to cultivate the capacity of their mind, to enrich their individuality.

It’s important to note I realize this group of people may exist at any given university or college; however, I feel this prevalence of dull-mindedness may be particularly rampant at USC due to the popular social climate of Greek life which can enforce the wrong values.

So how is this epidemic of cerebral sloth related to social conformity? Because the superficial features of Greek life endorse this subset of students to place no value in intellectual progression! To some, self-worth is appraised on the basis of social status and supposed social achievement. Social status is gained by “maintaining one’s relevance” in the social scene (e.g. Greek life).

This entails consistent attendance at frat parties where 1) you are likely only briefly familiarized with a handful of people, barring the couple friends who accompanied you 2) hard liquor is heavily consumed in order to match the dangerously high intoxication levels of everyone else + experience any semblance of fun 3) the aesthetic of party goers’ attire is conspiciously homogenous 4) female degradation is rife due to the active “hook-up culture.”

The mindset these events support consequently infect other forms of social outings—mindless, unsubstantial, superficial interactions being the common denominator. Sure, this type of meaningless recreation is totally “okay” and “fun” in moderation, but not when it thoroughly diminishes the value of fostering individuality and participating in intellectual exchanges. I suppose these events may be genuinely enjoyable for many and not harmful to his or her intellectual growth; however, I also know some students do fall victim to the shallow standards that Greek life sets forth.

To avoid generalizing, I want to emphasize my opinion has been formed and supported by my own subjective experiences of Greek life. It does not apply to all and I recognize many, many students defy my conjectures and have had alternative experiences.  My intention is to acknowledge and warn of the harmful values and trends Greek life can promote, not to condemn the institution as a whole.

In brevity, I contend that social affirmation should not be gained by adhering to a shallow and superficial social livelihood. Value should be placed in substantial traits like one’s exercise of motivated curiosity, sensitivity, open-mindedness, one’s formation of individuality, cerebral passions, original ideas, knowledge, one’s ability to inspire others, and the list goes on. College shouldn’t be a continuation of high school’s juvenile social standards; it should be a place for intellectual exploration and progression.