For many students, their day begins in the classroom and finishes studying late into the night. But for some, the night doesn't end there.
Although there's a common notion that intellectualism and partying are two separate entities, the two can balance each other out.
Partying is vital to me. It's more than a place to go on the weekends — it's somewhere I can let loose, make connections and shed the responsibilities of everyday life.
It's about community. It's about streaking glitter on your eyes, throwing sunglasses on your head and picking out the most obnoxious outfit you would usually never wear.
Dancing and laughing with strangers while EDM blasts in your ears is a whole lot more important than people give it credit for.
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Charli xcx has said in multiple interviews that partying is a hugely important aspect of her creative process, to the public's dismay. She was met with vicious backlash and claims her music isn't "high art."
Similarly, Gen Z has become increasingly prudish about going out.
American adults are spending 10% more time at home compared to 2003, with younger adults making up a lot of that shift, according to a 2024 study by Princeton professor Patrick Sharkey.
Especially in academia, there's a certain stigma that separates good students from bad students.
The good ones are prim and proper, straight-edge and stay in on the weekends. The bad ones are hedonistic creatures of the night, the kind your parents were worried you'd become when you went to ASU.
Most importantly, there's no gray area between the two.
I've often overheard classmates looking down on others for participating in this moral degeneracy in their free time, but how can you claim to be an intellectual if you've never experienced the real world?
The purpose of academia is to broaden your perspectives. By sanitizing your life, you close yourself off from experiences that could be valuable.
I'm not promoting going to the club every day, but there's beauty to be found in partaking in the degeneracy. There's more to life than school and work.
Now, let's get one thing clear: We all go to ASU. Allegedly, those No. 1 party school allegations are behind us, and we're the "Harvard of the West" now.
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But the party isn't over yet, even if ASU President Michael Crow insists the school is serious.
For many people, myself included, going out is a necessary experience. It's a place where conformity and anxiety disappear, and you can transform into the person you are when nobody's watching.
Being able to participate in an unstructured environment is invigorating. It helps me walk into work the next day relaxed and not take myself too seriously.
A party is a place where there are no rules or expectations. Contrary to popular belief, I've seen that environment bring out the best in people.
I've bonded with strangers over home-baked cookies sitting on a curb outside, essentially the modern equivalent of breaking bread. Within the chaos of hitting the town, those unexpected, wholesome moments are where the magic happens.
You might not know someone, but a party is the one place where it's okay to go up to them and strike up a conversation. Nightlife is unique, freeing and enlightening, giving people from different backgrounds a place to mingle.
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Finding a balance between going out and studying is crucial to me as a college student trying to stay sane. I simply can't have one without the other.
Partying keeps me connected, creatively fulfilled and happy. But that's not a caveat to my intelligence.
Instead, the two are cooperative parts that make me a more well-rounded person.
Either the world of academia needs to become less judgmental, or people need to get out more on the weekends — or both.
High art doesn't have to exist in the confines of a museum or classroom. You can learn everywhere, even on a sweaty technicolor dance floor.
Maybe it's time to close those textbooks and order an Uber.
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Senna James, Sophia Braccio and Ellis Preston.
Editor's note: The opinions presented in this letter are the author's and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Reach the reporter at ajanusee@asu.edu and follow @lexijanusee on X.
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Lexi Janusee is in her second semester with the State Press. She is a freshman studying Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Theatre. Lexi also works for Blaze Radio, and is an on-air host for Open Mic.
