PERSPECTIVE: BU LipDub too booze-heavy

Hey Boston University: Did you see it? I sure did. On April 9, in light of tiredness, stress and frustration due to finals, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore hired our very own dear mascot, Rhett, to cheer up the university. And what did Rhett do? He said let there be party and booze.

Turn the scene over to one of our just-awoken peeps, who proceeds to give a tour of the absolutely trashed Student Village 2 then sings about booze. And partying. And getting tipsy on Jack. And then passes out.
Fast forward to Agganis Arena where, low and behold, Rhett’s magical touch has spawned spontaneous dance and two games of Beer Pong. Remember, every moment is all staffed and preformed by our peers. The everyday student. The you and me.

Venture toward the entrance of the Fitness and Recreation Center and find faux Lady Gaga singing about consuming too much red wine while students dance, one with cocktail glass in hand. After some more dancing and student crowds, with a nigh-attended pool party at the end, the scene fades between Rhett stating “Mission Accomplished” and students clapping and cheering. Rhett might as well have had a Budweiser in hand.

Is this really how we want to represent our university, BU? Is this really promotional material to be proud of, Event Planning and Media Relations class? Is university-sanctioned binge-drinking and partying really the solution to finals-time woes, Dean Elmore? Is partying and booze during finals what we want people to think of when they see a BU degree, President Robert Brown?

Don’t get me wrong, here. I’m not against drinking. My teetotalism days are long gone. I myself enjoy a good Sam Adams Brick Red with a burger or a Harpoon Hefeweizen with my lahbstah. When at parties, I’ll pop a can of PBR and do a shot of Jack, and I will do so responsibly. But the problem here lies with the glorification of partying and binge-drinking as a university-sponsored event &- as an advertisement of BU. Our employers see this video, our parents see this video, prospective students see this video, peer institutions see this video. It’s up to us to remember that we are here for an education, and we should respect that responsibility.

I have no problem with lipdubs. They are creative, inventive and, if done right, reflect positively upon the creators. Still, if we are going to put one up as promotional material, we better damn well do a good job of it. The university’s first lipdub, even in its more amateur nature, had a better understanding of what a lipdub is. It embodied the fun spirit that should be inherent to a lipdub.

I know that this College of Communication class, given more time and support, could pull off a lipdub to put any other college to shame. What does this booze-infested, unfocused romp say about the quality of the classes involved and a COM education?

C’mon BU, Dean Elmore, President Brown: Is this really what we want to show to prospective employers, parents and students? That BU is filled with students who, because they can’t handle the rigors of a normal exam period, need to be pepped up by university-sponsored binge-drinking and partying? I personally don’t think so, and don’t feel this adequately represents my school, my education, my investment or myself. In the future, BU, we need to step it up.

James Sappenfield is a senior in the School of Management and the College ofArts and Sciences and the president of the Boston University Student Union