[derevaunseraun]

> Stanford students live in brand new buildings with white walls. We have a $20 million dollar meditation center that nobody uses. But students didn’t ask for any of that. We just wanted a dirty house with friends.

From my experience, covid exacerbated this significantly. I don't know if it's just the universities or a broader cultural shift. And as the article says, the administrators introduced more "community initiatives" to exonerate themselves of gleefully destroying campus life and letting it atrophy for two years straight (while making students pay in person tuition for online school)

It feels like in the past couple years we've gone from a culture of spontaneity and grassroots initiative to one of bitter obsequiousness that's obsessed with taking itself seriously. The only way to subvert it is by turning it into one big joke

edit: thanks to OP for posting this magazine, it's the first thing I've seen in a while that actually has something to say

[musicale]

> making students pay in person tuition for online school

Bad enough at any school, but imagine borrowing $60K or more to pay for 9 months of Zoom university.

[efields]

We moved early-covid to a neighborhood in my wife's hometown. Got twice the space inside and outside for the same price we sold (moving from major metro -> minor metro). In a few short months, our bff neighbors were gone, meeting new neighbors was hard, bars closed and spontaneity was gone, so we settled into Covid life. I was watching a lot of Monty Don and so I did the most logical thing to do to a new backyard: I ripped up a huge chunk of grass on the southern side of the house, built soil with lasagna gardening techniques, and hand-laid a bluestone path.

Sure, gardening is some privileged shit in this day and age, but I basically put myself down a 5 year path determined by seasons, weather, microbiology and how much I was willing to learn in my spare time. It's beautiful chaos half the time, but it's starting to surprise and delight everyone who visits.

It's also a place to be less serious about life. You need some humility. Sometimes being off by two weeks can ruin a plant. LOL let's try again next year. No biggie.

Americans need more of that. It doesn't have to be gardening of course, but please go out of your way to find something that can introduce more surprising and rewarding variables into your life that you enjoy figuring out.

[watwut]

Interesting aspect of this is that in Stanford survey, overwhelming majority of students (83%) want to see Greek life reformed, de-housed, or abolished. This is not administrators against students in general issue. This is administration doing moves that are broadly supported by majority of students.

[Zak]

I was wondering about the other side of this issue. Thanks for providing a glimpse of it.

Reformed, de-housed, and abolished are very different. "Reformed" in particular could encompass a wide range of measures which don't necessarily involve heavily policing student organizations.

[watwut]

Yes they are much different. Here are two articles about survey (they are similar but contain bit different details). What I remember in addition is that the longer student was on campus, the less favorably he/she looks at Greek life.

- https://stanforddaily.com/2021/09/28/official-greek-life-sur...

- https://stanforddaily.com/2021/11/04/abolish-stanford-greek-...

The unhousing is actually pretty big thing and closer to abolishing then anything else. It would put greeks to more similar position as ordinary clubs. The ability to have the same house consistently is one of big advantages these organizations have against other students group. Other students had to draw where they will be with no consistency. (There are plans for reforms to allow other students being able to keep same neighborhood across years too. So that might change next years. )

The buildings assigned to greeks are in highly desirable area and have features other buildings don't. And obviously, access to that is controlled by these student groups. And obviously to keep living there you have to follow rules - like for example participate on set amount of social activities weekly, paying membership, buying stuff, wearing right cloth to fit attractiveness criteria (this is more for girls) etc. If you fail to visit pre determined amount of parties, you can't stay or have to pay fine or whatever.

----------------

These groups social life is not infinitely free and spontaneous, they have their own pressures (freedom to not party for two months not necessary being available to members). Including systematic wrong incentives. Standford favors greeks that have national affiliation and that comes with more rules. Most absurdly, for sororities, they can't host parties with alcohol to keep insurance cheaper. Making them dependent on fraternities for partying. Can't make own party with own rules, have to look and act in a way that will make fraternity want you in theirs. Which is mind boggling setup.

I mean the above is concern of the group primary. But in terms of unrestricted freedom and experimentation, they don't actually have that.

[sanderjd]

The optimistic side of this is that the backlash is inevitable.

[jessriedel]

Its not. Stanford and other elite schools know their brand name is immensely valuable and students will keep enrolling even if campus social life is bleached of all fun. The only real force pushing back at all are alumni whose donations fall (briefly) when a university squashes something too explicitly that had an unusual amount of sentimental value. But that just slows things down a bit.

[sanderjd]

Oh I don't mean at Stanford specifically necessarily, I mean backlash in the culture broadly.

[jessriedel]

I can't see why. People won't stop hiring elite university grads, or being impressed by them at parties, because they hear the university social life has become less enriching.

[datavirtue]

"Hold my beer" -- The people who never went to college.