Be thankful you were part of the lucky thousands who experienced Unofficial. Next year, if the Urbana-Champaign Senate could have its way, the holiday would be eliminated. The U-C Senate passed a resolution on Monday to take future steps in banning Unofficial. Across the country, University administrations strive to suppress drinking rituals on college campuses. Our school is not alone.

Monday, some Princeton students celebrated “Newman Day.” The goal: drink a beer every hour of the day (and night). Allegedly, this ritual is based on a speech by Paul Newman, in which he noted the interesting correlation between the 24 hours in a day and the 24 beers in a case. Of course, Newman denies the causation between himself and the event.

About three weeks ago, Playboy honored University of Wisconsin students, naming Madison the number one party school in the nation. Richard Herman will not face the same anxiety as Madison’s administration, because, unfortunately, Illinois did not make the list.

Playboy not only noted Madison’s massive Halloween celebration, but also commended the school for its academics. Madison happens to be above us on the U.S. News and World Report list, too.

So what is the correlation between drinking and academics? I know most would agree with me that consuming a cocktail would make my extremely boring history professor a little more interesting. Who knows, maybe he would enjoy teaching more if he had a cocktail in hand.

I think most of us would also agree that you deserve a drink after one of your most difficult tests. At Notre Dame, fellow students greet MCAT finishers by spraying bottles of champagne on the pre-med students. Kegs of beer were also used to greet them, until the administration and police put an end to that too. What’s wrong with a little celebration?

If you’re a celebrating student, do not go to class. I agree with faculty members that this is not only obnoxious, it’s childish; as a result, the administration now treats us like children.

The University condemns Unofficial under the guise that it disrupts our well-disciplined academic atmosphere. Unofficial only transforms one day out of the entire school year. The administration fears being labeled as “a party school.” Parents will not send their children to a place where they perceive their precious child will learn more about the different types of beer than the books in the library.

Warning to parents: excessive drinking occurs on every campus. How a student reacts to the atmosphere depends more on the student than the atmosphere. Intelligent students know to balance their social activities with their schoolwork. Believe it or not, incoming freshmen know this too. If you didn’t, you don’t belong at Illinois.

The administration has become tired of negotiating with Unofficial officials about not scheduling the excessive partying and the Engineering open house on the same weekend. Thus far, the officials of Unofficial have been cooperative.

Understandably, the administration wants to ensure that the best and brightest students will attend the University. May I suggest that we actually create a strong academic environment instead of constructing the illusion of one?

This begins by not treating us like children. I, and others I have talked with, have been disappointed that Illinois’ reputation does not match the academics. General Education requirements, for example, are an absolute joke. Most seem like high school freshman classes with study guides for tests and few challenging requirements.

Faculty, please do not dumb things down. Teach to the smartest in the class and the others will rise to the challenge. This is not high school where everyone needs to know basic principles. If we don’t understand, we need to either see you in your office hours or read other books.

The Unofficial debate etches the surface of a larger problem: successfully constructing a competitive academic environment. A University education should instruct students how to be mentally independent, to discover our own conclusion in the face of conflicting arguments. Illinois should be an academic atmosphere, not career training.

Renee Thessing is a junior in LAS. Her column appears on Thursdays. She can be reached at [email protected].