I am sure that many students at The University of Akron have either participated in or know someone who has participated in what some may consider an immoral behavior. Much ado is made about who got wasted at a party, who is sleeping with whom, and of course where you can find good weed.

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I am sure that many students at The University of Akron have either participated in or know someone who has participated in what some may consider an immoral behavior. Much ado is made about who got wasted at a party, who is sleeping with whom, and of course where you can find good weed.

I overhear conversations like these every day on campus. Students discuss this debauchery with such liberty that you would think that getting drunk and high is as normal as breathing. We clearly have a moral deficiency in the world, and college students are doing nothing to change that image. Worse yet, these actions still have no real consequence to thousands of students on our campus.

For those of you who feel that people often preach temperance and non-smoking, I would ask for the positive contributions to society that these actions create. Arriving to class late on a Tuesday morning because you are hung over is nothing to brag about. If you think this is proper behavior, imagine an attorney showing up late for a court date and telling the judge that he got wasted the night before and has a massive headache.

If drinking is so great, why do people end up in prison for having too much alcohol? Public intoxication, driving under the influence (DUI) and alcohol-influenced auto accidents are not beacons of moral hope. Not to mention the potential date rape, pregnancies, STDs and general feeling after an alcohol-induced sexual encounter.

Another fine example of our moral decay is the blatant use of weed. The Partnership for a Drug Free America states that, Short-term effects of marijuana include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch), trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor coordination, increased heart rate, and anxiety. These effects are even greater when other drugs are mixed with weed. All the excuses about the physical health benefits of toking are simply ignoring the mental and psychological negatives.

No matter what your greater beliefs, we all have a sense of right and wrong. I refuse to believe that there are that many parents out there who promote negative behaviors. College used to be a place for higher learning, where students could come to receive a quality education that would enhance their lives and provide for a better future. It was a way to study and better ourselves, not a portal to excuse inappropriate behaviors that can cause habitual problems. Our generation believes that it is special, but we are drinking and partying our identity away. Our children will be worse, as we are worse than our parents.

All students at The University of Akron are free to make their own decisions, but morality is dying here. The only question is whether to pull out the paddles, or just pull the plug.