What is it about the college years that bring out the worst in people’s vocabulary? Children, as they age, flock to all things taboo, including alcohol, movies, other aspects of pop culture and swearing.

If most people remember back to their days in high school, they can most likely recall more than a few people that found it necessary to weave a rich tapestry of obscenity into every conversation. Most schools probably had some type of policy against profane language, even if it was never enforced.

However, when something ceases to be taboo, isn’t this also when it ceases to be attractive? This argument is perpetuated time and time again when trying to justify the lowering of the drinking age or the legalization of certain drugs. If only the government got their head out of the sand and realized that by clamping the lid on these activities they force them to boil over.

To a certain extent, this might be true. Most images of drunken debauchery on college campuses feature underage students. Why, then, doesn’t swearing cease or at least die down dramatically when people come to college? Surely no one would be so close-minded as to chastise or punish someone for swearing. No, the vulgarities fly free with no obvious consequences. Let’s ignore, for this instance, the fact that universities are notorious for their suppression of free speech. Or, maybe it’s better to say speech is free so long as it is university-approved.

I had a teacher in elementary school who would tell me how poorly it reflected on someone when they swore. I thought she was a great teacher, but her advice was not heeded for a long, long time.

Recently, I came across a professor who warned that her use of profanity would be a frequent element of lecture. This had never happened before. Most people on campus have probably encountered several professors that peppered their material with a few obscenities, but this seemed a little beyond that. I would eventually decide to drop the class, both because I found the opening warning unprofessional and for other unrelated reasons.

Why is this type of language so rarely questioned on campus? There are very few other professions in the world that look upon this language as something to be embraced. Throwing a casual profanity into one’s answer at an interview will certainly not net that person the job. Obviously, the well-qualified candidate who has proper command of the English language will land the job over the equally well-qualified candidate with a loose tongue.

Is academia today so out of touch with the rest of reality that they think swearing on the job is a proper example to set for the adults about to be let out into the real world? In light of a recent study by the American Institutes for Research, showing that more than 50 percent of four-year college students were not able to handle complex literacy tasks, is it a good idea to be imbuing them with the idea that profanity has a place in the business world?

Regardless of the reason why this language is so commonplace on campus, it needs to be addressed. While many may claim that making something taboo only makes it more enticing, in this case, approval from above certainly does not seem to be discouraging. Perhaps the intellectuals and progressives will brush aside this request as one motivated by archaic sentimentalities, the product of a view of society that has long since dwindled from the spotlight. They would be correct, but my question to them would be, what gives you the right to throw away the collective wisdom of past societies?

John Ostrowski is a junior in communications. His column appears on Tuesdays. He can be reached at [email protected].