I Love College

If someone were to ask you to describe what college is like, it would be hard to come up with a quick answer. It is a time to make new friends, see new places, and study what you actually want to study. Also, the social scene is completely different compared to high school and often this side of college gets glorified by rappers such as Asher Roth. In Asher Roth’s “I Love College”, the listener catches a glimpse of what the party scene is like at college and not what college is actually all about.

It is no surprise that Asher Roth is a one-hit wonder. Although “I Love College” is catchy and has a good number of listens on Spotify, it is hard to ignore that the song objectifies women. In the opening part of the song, Roth writes:

That party last night was awfully crazy
I wish we taped it
I danced my ass off and had this one girl completely naked

Here, Asher describes some party he went to the other night. It was so crazy that he wishes someone had it on film. Weird right? Snapchat wasn’t around when Roth wrote this song but filming a party seems kinda sad. Just from the opening of the song, the listener can see how Roth is struggling to close the yearbook. Also, in these lines, Roth says how he had a girl completely naked. Cool right? Here, Roth brags about a girl stripping for him most likely because she was under the influence. Sweet Asher Roth.

Following these, lines Asher continues to relive his college years.

I wanna go to college for the rest of my life
Sip bankers club and drink miller lite
On thirsty Thursday and Tuesday night ice
And I can get pizza a dollar a slice

Here, it is apparent that Asher’s college experience revolves around drinking and pizza. Instead of making the most of his college experience, Asher seems to be only focused on partying. The first line is especially disturbing because a person should never want to go to college for the rest of their life. If you make the most of your college experience, then your career will become the rest of your life, not school.

Asher’s deplorable state is also seen in the following line:

Time isn’t wasted when you’re getting wasted

Although drinking is a big part of transitioning into college, it shouldn’t become everything. Even though drinking can be a great social outlet, getting wasted most certainly isn’t the best use of time. Instead of having meaningful interactions with friends, Asher thinks blacking out is more important.

Believe it or not, the song gets worse from here. Next, Asher states:

I can’t tell you what I learned from school
But I could tell you a story or two

These lyrics are almost laughable. Instead of studying what he loved, Asher can only recall the crazy weekends he’s had. At this point in the song, it is easy to start feeling sorry for Asher. Furthermore, the fact that he can only tell a story or two most likely means he was wasted all throughout college.

Lastly, not only does this song objectify women and glorify partying, but it also encourages hazing. Towards the end of the song, Asher writes:

Chug chug chug chug chug chug chug chug

Freshman freshman freshman freshman

Do something crazy do something crazy do something crazy do something crazy

Keg-stand keg-stand keg-stand keg-stand

Hazing is no laughing matter. As seen in the news lately, many college students have died because of it. However, Asher Roth makes it appear to be a normal part of college and doesn’t see anything wrong with it. Hazing achieves what Asher perceives to be the main point of college – getting wasted.

So as one can see, this song has the potential to steer young minds in the wrong direction. Although drinking can be a part of college, the main purpose of college is studying what you love and making life-long friends during the process. Time is wasted when you’re getting wasted and objectifying women is never acceptable. This song is dangerous because it paints a false portrayal of what college is really like. Failure to recognize this could result in a line of deadly decision making.

See the music video for “I Love College” here: