I came to USC in August 2013, a bright-eyed freshman eager to enjoy the merits of the premier “work hard, play hard” university in Southern California.  Through the first semester of my college experience, however, I have found a more accurate motto for many students: “work hard, play until you black out”.

(Kevin Litman-Navarro, Neon Tommy)

In my first four months at the University of Southern California, there have been four alcohol hospitalizations per weekend, one alcohol related death, and countless attempts by university staff to curtail the increase in binge drinking.  From restrictions on Greek Row to punishing individuals for underage drinking, USC officials have tried a multitude of different ways to discourage unsafe drinking in the student population.

However, imposing sanctions on partying and punishing students is not enough.  Binge drinking will continue regardless of how many parties happen on one night, or how many students are placed on disciplinary probation.  What USC needs to do is change the culture on campus to one that doesn’t require drinking to have a good time.

This isn't a new concept.  Many people have proposed similar ideas and the university has been working on ways to create this type of environment.

However, whatever changes they make are counter-productive when USC continues to promote itself as a party school.

The latest form of this is found in USC’s 2014 football slogan #TurnUpSC.  This mantra is featured on t-shirts, promotional videos, and the Galen Center marquee.  Urban Dictionary defines the phrase “Turn Up” as follows:

              Verb:

          1) Getting loose, being wild and potentially engaging in sexual activity with members of the opposite gender (or the same gender if thats what you're in to) 

          2) Acting crazy due to consumption of large amounts of alcohol, marijuana, molly or other drugs  

Wait, what? So just to be clear, after a semester-long crackdown on alcohol consumption, USC is now adopting a slogan that encourages students to consume copious amounts of alcohol and drugs for the purpose of having fun?

Welcome to our school, the University of “Turn Up”.

How can university officials emphasize a change in college drinking culture while simultaneously promoting the activities they condemn? Students won’t take attempts to curb drinking seriously as long as USC keeps perpetuating the idea that our institution supports irresponsible partying.

Honestly, I am embarrassed.  Students see #TurnUpSC on the t-shirts worn around campus; people driving down the 110 freeway see it on the Galen Center Marquee; alumni and prospective students see it in the 2014 football season videos promoted at football games and all over the twitter.

The slogan creates problems beyond invalidating steps to make campus life safer; it broadcasts my university as a place that doesn’t take itself seriously.  

Over the past few years, USC’s academic standing has been improving drastically and this is a major step back.  People shouldn’t be coming to USC to “turn up”, they should be pursuing a premier education.  We need to decide if we want to be a party school, or continue improving our reputation until we are a top university.

I’m not saying that people need to stop partying.  However, both students and university officials need to be more aware of how their actions reflect on the university.  Blacking out, hospitalizations, and “turning up”, shouldn’t be a part of USC’s identity. People can continue to behave as they see fit, but not to the extent where alcohol consumption and drinking culture define the University of Southern California. #TurnUpSC seems like the university’s way of condoning this behavior and declaring that we want to be known as a party school.

Perhaps I am being too critical.  Maybe it is just a coincidence that university officials chose “turn up” as the basis for the slogan.  Maybe they just know that “all of the kids are saying it” and are attempting to connect with current and prospective students.  However, every college student understands the colloquial meaning, and a mistake of this kind points to a larger problem of incompetence.

For my part, I am hopeful that USC will rectify this disconcerting error soon, force #TurnUpSC into an early retirement, and allow the university community to refocus on what's important. USC is making incredible strides in its march toward becoming a world-renowned, top-tier university. Let's not let the party school image of yesteryear hinder that admirable progress.

Reach Contibutor Kevin Litman-Navarro here.