This little piggie went to market. This little piggie stayed home. This little piggie had roast beef. This little piggie had none. This little piggie

had too many drinks and lost his way home.

Prominent headline in the student paper today:

5 drunken students hospitalized
14 found unconscious or vomiting since Wednesday

As if this is a new occurrence. The article speaks of administrators and councilors pondering whether this indicates an increase in the number of parties on/near campus. I say, these are kids who have no rule-givers and tend to take advantage of that situation.

I'm not condoning debaucherous evenings. I think kids who drink themselves into a coma have problems, the least of which may be they are stupid. It's all about choices, people. Do you want to spend the night on the concrete or asphalt of a parking lot because you drank too much? I can think of at least 100 other places I'd rather be.

The article issues in a new academic year, replete with, as Kate so eloquently put it, "children masquerading as students." I would say, as adults.

I miss the quiet peacefulness of Summer without undergrads. The lack of bass thumping from tinted SUVs speeding down side streets. The lack of slutty outfits on girls hardly old enough to understand the statements they're making. The lack of camaradarie between people who know the secrets of this rural city (this is buried now beneath the human mass of students of every sort). Too many perfectly tanned, manicured, and attired people. Too many to count. Too many to avoid.

I must be a country girl at heart.