2008 Woodie Awards
Put down the bowl and get over yourself
By: Claire Deason, Rosa Signy Gisladottir
Issue date: 3/31/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 2 next >
In The Mac Weekly last week, a news article (“Students find fault with Res. Life's drug policies”) exposed a growing problem at Macalester: more students are leaving the dorms and moving off campus because Macalester does not tolerate underage drinking or smoking marijuana. When we first saw this article, we thought it was a joke. But after reading it in its entirety and finding no Onion-style sarcastic punch line, we felt it necessary to respond.
As one fairly normal European and one fairly normal Minnesotan, we can honestly say that it was a culture shock to discover the Macalester student body's affection for marijuana. We don't know where you weed people are from, but it certainly doesn't sound like a very cool place. We thought smoking was for losers - in fact, we can't think of anything more un-cool. Not only is it incredibly smelly and unhealthy (want some damage to your memory, messed-up learning capabilities and perception, and impaired problem solving, anyone?), but smoking weed is also extremely unattractive. The practical problem of un-date-ability (namely, overall unattractiveness associated with marijuana) is nothing, however, compared to the rationale the weeders adopt. “Smoking marijuana supports the pillar of internationalism at Macalester?” “My relationships with my closest friends and family have been strengthened and shaped by the communalism of the bowl?” Seriously?! Let's just repeat that for the slow smokers out there: SERIOUSLY. We can't believe these people think it's reasonable to expect Mac to allow marijuana on campus. Perhaps it's all the smoking they've been doing…
A culture that accepts that the cream of its intellectual crop uses marijuana to “remove barriers to social interaction” must be seriously socially handicapped in the first place - and if its potential leaders spend precious time in their most productive years messing with their cognitive abilities the prospects can't be good.
As one fairly normal European and one fairly normal Minnesotan, we can honestly say that it was a culture shock to discover the Macalester student body's affection for marijuana. We don't know where you weed people are from, but it certainly doesn't sound like a very cool place. We thought smoking was for losers - in fact, we can't think of anything more un-cool. Not only is it incredibly smelly and unhealthy (want some damage to your memory, messed-up learning capabilities and perception, and impaired problem solving, anyone?), but smoking weed is also extremely unattractive. The practical problem of un-date-ability (namely, overall unattractiveness associated with marijuana) is nothing, however, compared to the rationale the weeders adopt. “Smoking marijuana supports the pillar of internationalism at Macalester?” “My relationships with my closest friends and family have been strengthened and shaped by the communalism of the bowl?” Seriously?! Let's just repeat that for the slow smokers out there: SERIOUSLY. We can't believe these people think it's reasonable to expect Mac to allow marijuana on campus. Perhaps it's all the smoking they've been doing…
A culture that accepts that the cream of its intellectual crop uses marijuana to “remove barriers to social interaction” must be seriously socially handicapped in the first place - and if its potential leaders spend precious time in their most productive years messing with their cognitive abilities the prospects can't be good.
Be the first to comment on this story