I read this article with the usual reaction:
University freshers braved the elements in nothing but pairs of ‘budgie smugglers’ and skimpy swimwear during a wild night out to celebrate the start of their further education.
I know, I know:
If you insist.
And for those of you unfamiliar with the term “budgie smugglers”, here’s a pic of said clothing:
At least the police were there to keep an eye on things:
…and pints of body fluids errr beer flowed freely through the night.
One of the comments to said article was quite touching:
Sorry to break it to you, Bob, but only about 30% of students actually belong there. The rest are just a waste of everybody’s time and money, regardless of who’s paying the fees.
All those who agree with me, raise your hands…
30% may be a bit too gracious… 10% is likely more appropriate.
I included people like med students, engineers and bio-chemists to get to 30%.
If you’re talking about liberal arts students, it’s 5%.
First time I have seen pictures of Brits with lots of flesh showing that does not have ink. Might be a bit more intelligent than average.
good observation
I seriously erred in my choice of colleges. I spent eight years, 1961 to 1969, getting degrees and never saw anything like that.
Me either, they said there were female engineering students, but I never saw any. Or at least any that were worth attempting to verify that they were female.
by the early 90s the ratios may have improved but the quality of coeds in engineering school absolutely did not.
Streaking was a big thing on college campuses in the 1970’s, Oklahoma State University had a tradition of drinking 3.2 beer and running in the nude the Thursday before spring break and over time it petered out. I was not in college then, but I lived in Okie City and read about it in the papers and saw it on the news.
You need a much bigger, wider, crowd-shot to conclude this post.
My late father was an academic – History of Science and Technology – and he firmly believed that what a humanities degree qualified you to do was study for the next degree. That was fine, if you were of a scholarly bent (he was), but a waste of time if you weren’t.
In the United States, the Universities greatly expanded to accommodate the baby boom, and since the boom passed they have been hauling in just about anyone to maintain their swollen size and high salaries. One consequence has been the prevailing idea that whatever you may want to do, you should get a college degree in it. Prime example? That poor shmoo in the early ‘occupy’ protests who said he owed $30K for a Masters Degree in Puppetry. Yes, it’s funny. But it’s also sad. He was just doing what society told him to. He wanted to work with puppets, ergo he got a degree. It apparently never occurred to him to hitchhike to Los Angeles and get a job running coffee for Jim Henson studios and work his way in from the side.
He’s a sheep, doing what society told him, even when it made no objective sense. The people who SOLD him that degree, OTOH, are thieves.