Playboy cited the bars on Court Street, springtime fests and the Halloween Block Party as reasons for OU's high ranking.
Coming off a victory on the football field this weekend, Ohio University has plenty to celebrate, and now there is one more thing to add to the list.
OU was named Playboy’s top party school for 2015.
Playboy cited the Athens Halloween Block Party, the 18 bars on Court Street and the series of springtime fests as backing for OU’s party-school prowess.
OU is the only school from Ohio or in the Mid-American Conference on the top 10 list.
Playboy Magazine editors determined their top party schools based on “access to nightlife and musical events, and creativity when planning social gatherings,” and a reader’s poll, according to their website.
The University of Pennsylvania was the top Playboy party school last year.
While some students are pumped about OU reclaiming the throne, others have mixed feelings.
“I’m just glad we are back on top,” Rick Beck, a junior studying electrical engineering, said. “We were lagging there for a little so I’m happy we are back on top.”
He was “a little bit surprised” to hear that OU has climbed back to top party school listings.
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“With how hard they have been cracking down on fests and Halloween and stuff, I’m kinda surprised we’re at number one because we had been moving down these kind of lists,” Beck said.
Kaitlin Schweinfurth, a junior studying biology and pre-physical therapy, shared Beck’s surprise, adding that she believed OU had begun to lose its party school stigma.
“I’m kinda surprised because it seemed like we were going down in that kind of stereotype of our school and I just think there’s so much more to our school that people don’t see because we’re stereotyped as a party school and we have so many great things,” Schweinfurth said.
She cited the medical school as a prominent part of OU.
“People don’t realize that. Everyone just kinda looks at us like ‘oh, you go to a party school’ and then they actually come here and they realize it’s so much more than just a party school,” Schweinfurth said. “Every school is a party school in my opinion.”
Andie Moore, a senior studying psychology, shared Schweinfurth’s sentiment.
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“I think we have a major stereotype against us and the academics here are amazing,” Moore said.
Despite the prominent ranking from Playboy, OU is ranked as the 16th party school in the Princeton Review for the 2015-16 year, dropping three spots from last year’s ranking.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is ranked as the top party school according to the list.
The Princeton Review previously ranked OU as the top party school in 2011 and third in 2012.
“We are here to get an education, so we can be stereotyped all we want. At the same time, Bobcats know who Bobcats are,” Moore said.
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