Compile a list of overexposed stars and 24-year-old Lindsay Lohan will be near the top. She has gained more fame for her partying and personal troubles than she has for her acting.
Judging from her stint in rehab, her not wearing any underwear and being harassed by the paparazzi for all the wrong reasons, Lohan probably wishes that she had made different choices. In the October issue of “Vanity Fair,” she said that all the trouble she had gotten herself into was due to a phase — a college phase.
“These were my college years,” Lohan said in the article, “but they were in the public eye. I was irresponsible. I was experimenting. I was doing certain things that people do ten times more of when they’re in college.”
No one needs a translator to understand what Lohan meant: the average college student is out partying, drinking, not wearing any underwear and getting into all kinds of trouble. Interesting — and ignorant — statement from a girl who’s never set foot in a college classroom.
A few months ago, a girl trying to guess my age concluded that I could not possibly be 19. When I asked her why, she said, “Because if you were 19, you’d still be partying and stuff.” She matched her statement with the wild-and-crazy gestures that some people post on Facebook.
There’s something wrong with that mentality. Just because you’re young, you’re allowed to be irresponsible. You’re almost expected to be irresponsible. While I’m sure not everyone in the country brand college students with these negative stereotypes, I’m still worried that they’re found everywhere. It’s not fair or right to place a label on people because of their age group.
What about the college students who are student leaders? The ones who actually care about their futures and see their college years as a time to grow as people and explore the world around them with the intention of making it a better place? Don’t they deserve to be accepted at face value instead of judged through the narrow limitations others place on them?
Not all college students are out living life “ten times worse” than Lohan. It’s sad that the words “college student” bring to mind a person without the lifestyle, habits and character that make up hard workers and contributing members of society. It’s sad to hear others malign college students. But to hear negative comments and not challenge them is almost worse.
Students should care enough about their reputations to strive to break free of this stereotypical mold and rebel against the low expectations placed on them. Perhaps by doing this, the words “college student” will come to represent active and responsible members of society who dare others to live empowering and productive lives.
