To the editor:
Brought to my attention were comments made by Amanda Senft in her column in The Lamron's Feb. 28 issue. An important note on the context of my reading thereof: It was brought to my attention while I played video games after waking up 15 minutes before my class and making the 12 minute walk to Welles with enough time for a Books 'n Bytes cocoa. That said, I found the claim "college students are probably close to the most stressed-out population in the country" laughable.
Look at what Senft is saying: college students, having removed themselves from the work force for four years, are more stressed than someone working 40 hours a week? More stressed than parents caring for children? More stressed than an unemployed individual wondering where his or her next meal will come from?
College is, in essence, the single most selfish thing any of us will ever do. None of us have anything more than a 20-minute commute, compared to the 55 minutes the average worker does; we have at most 18 hours a week where we have to be in class, and even then, we can usually find an excuse to skip. If we fail a class, we can retake it. We never worry about promotions to pay the mortgage, or picking up the kids on time. Compare the two weeks' vacation time companies judiciously allow their workers to the four full months built into the academic year.
As for the necessity of drinking as a means of blowing off steam, I suggest these are not necessities, but luxuries - does a new parent have the option of partying a weekend away, or don't they have to stay at home and take care of their children? Not everyone is so lucky as to have a whole street of cheap therapy just north of their dorm.
Simply put, relax - college is fun, and we all know it. To call us the most stressed out population in America is as self-congratulatory as it is wrong. If this is too much for you, then you don't have much to look forward to.
Matthew Bukowski
Junior