Have you ever gone to Downtown Binghamton, sobered up and then seen the horrifying scene that is State Street? Through the screams of friends reuniting, the strangers making out in the corner of the bar and the friends dancing in the window of JT’s Tavern, it can be difficult to see the infamous stretch of road for anything other than a typical hub of nightlife. However, there is a whole darker underground world, a world that we seem to be suppressing.
We are told college is supposed to be fun, exciting and thrilling. We are told we only have four years to party, so we should be going out every night. But college is more than just that. It’s filled with exams, breakups, anxiety, stress, loneliness and much more. Sometimes we are aware, and sometimes we aren’t. Sometimes we choose to talk about it, but most of the time we don’t. On top of that, we find ourselves practicing disturbing habits. We are sleeping at 3 a.m., eating poorly, cramming in for exams and binge drinking on the weekends. Yet, within the realm of college, it’s the norm and almost fun.
When I first came to Binghamton University, State Street seemed to be the happiest place. Whether it was 75 degrees or 5 degrees, people were joyfully scurrying about. My friends and I would get together and make our journey Downtown, dancing and reuniting after a long week. Yet, on occasion, our lives burst out of the college bubble in which they are so often insulated.¶
With time, reality set in, and the State Street magic disappeared. Tears were more apparent, friends were less happy, but our habits did not change. The evolution of this once-magical place came to me as a shock.
Instead of taking a night in, you take a night out. When the anxiety sets in around a new group, another shot is taken. When the breakup hits you hard, you are found masking the pain with a fishbowl. When the person you have been seeing is caught flirting with somebody else, you begin to break down. When you remember that you just failed a test, you take another shot.
So what does it mean? That State Street is not just a place for the good times, but also for the bad? Is there a solution to this problem? In reality, I don’t necessarily think there is a solution, nor should there be. Going out should not be limited to those who are happy and confident with themselves. If that were the case, State Street wouldn’t exist. Yet, we should recognize the duality found in this stretch of asphalt and the realities that come with it.
Most importantly, this means that we need to be good bystanders. Our campus is a community, and our friends are our family. If we aren’t going to defeat the pressures to going out, the pressures to help a friend in their vulnerable time should be just as great.
It shouldn’t be the norm to see a peer crying, and keep walking. It shouldn’t be the norm to walk by two people carrying their incapacitated friend home, and keep walking. It shouldn’t be the norm to suppress the stress of our lives with alcohol. We are here for each other, learning who we are and how to support one another. Yes, State Street might be the happiest place in the world. But even the happiest place in the world has some flaws. Don’t let those flaws go unnoticed, and step in to ensure a healthy balance between unhealthy habits of a college student and the realities of life.
Sarah Saad is a senior double-majoring in human development and women, gender and sexuality studies.