Berkeley Blog

Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll: Most Critical Part of College Experience Eliminated by Distance Learning

My German professor at Reed College – who is long since deceased – once said that if he could get only 5 percent of his students’ attention, he would feel as if he had succeeded. That’s because, he affirmed -- based on decades of observation (including his own participation given this was before the #MeToo movement) -- most college students spend 95 percent of their time focused on sex, drugs, and rock n roll.

That was during the 60s, but I don’t think much has changed except for the musical genres. Why would anyone want to “go to” college when entering an actual classroom is now mostly virtual, dining is take-out or socially distanced, and social activities – not to mention sex – are not only highly discouraged but might also result in death via Covid-19?

My brother-in-law, a retired Cornell professor, just sent me an email from Cornell President Martha E. Pollack to students and staff, outlining plans for an in-person year with “hybrid instruction and opportunities for remote learning for those who can’t return” – mainly international students. The plan covers classroom lectures, living arrangements, travel, and schedules but skips over the essential three elements of a student’s life: sex, drugs, and rock n roll.

If I were a student, I’d be tempted to skip the year, save some hefty college fees, and do something to help stop the spread of the virus, especially among communities of color, the homeless, those in nursing homes, and anyone who is food or rent insecure.

Perhaps someone will initiate a Covid Community Corps, akin to the Peace Corps, composed of young people dedicated to healing this nation and the planet, not to mention learning more about themselves and non-similar others than they would in a place of higher learning.

This does not rule out doing distance learning as well, but it should be free and accredited. Covid community work should eliminate tuition fees, at least for the coming academic year.

As to sex, drugs, and rock n roll, those in the Covid Community Corps would have the opportunity to experience and acquire empathy, compassion, and caring, all attributes that could prove more gratifying and just as useful for living their lives as the knowledge acquired at an in-person college.

It Could Be Much Worse

I was ten years old in 1956 and living in Bremerhaven, Germany, where my dad, a U.S. Army chief warrant officer and bandleader, was stationed, when hundreds-- perhaps thousands-- of Hungarians converged on our town carrying their entire possessions and holding onto their young children. The Hungarians were fleeing from an uprising, known as the Hungarian Revolution, protesting the policies of the Soviet government.

Besides their possessions, these refugees were carrying something else: a new strain of flu, which came to be known as the Hungarian flu. They had walked hundreds of miles to our town because it was a large port, and they could board ships to get to other continents, such as the U.S. 

Because many of these refugees had the Hungarian flu, Bremerhaven -- which was occupied by the U.S. and its western European allies under an agreement with the Soviet government after WWII and still in effect -- immediately enforced a quarantine for three weeks. I don't remember whether we could go outside -- I used to bicycle everywhere on the cobblestoned streets and see if I could weave between Army tanks as conveys drove along the roads -- but I do remember that my parents were worried and had probably stockpiled food from the PX, or military post exchange. I don't remember where the refugees were housed ....it was cold by the North Sea and I do remember they all wore thick, heavy coats three weeks. After the quarantine lifted, we departed for the U.S. 

In these times, I think of those Hungarians suffering from a strange flu and having no home or possessions, like the millions of migrants escaping their homelands today. At least most of us have homes. We still have a country, and we still have some reasonable, responsible people in government, perhaps not at the White House, but elsewhere. We are not under martial law...yet. We have possessions and food and most of us have the technology to stay connected. It could be much worse.