August 20, 2012
WVU tops another ‘party school’ list
Gazette file photo
The Princeton Review ranked WVU the No. 1 party school for the third time. WVU has been among the top 20 party schools 12 times in the 21 years the rankings have been published.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia University is back on top for the first time in five years, bumping off Ohio University to reclaim its title as the nation's No. 1 party school.

WVU hasn't held the top spot since 2007, but the rankings announced Monday by The Princeton Review make it the third time. WVU was also No. 1 in 1997, and it's been among the top 20 party schools 12 times in the 21 years the rankings have been published.

Not surprisingly, WVU also ranks No. 1 in the "Lots of Beer" category.

Topping the Stone-Cold Sober Schools for the 15th straight year? Utah's Brigham Young University.

The current rankings are in the 2013 edition of "The Best 377 Colleges," which goes on sale Tuesday. There are 62 ranking lists, each based on surveys of 122,000 students during the last school year. Students answered 80 questions about academics, administration, campus life, the student body and themselves.

WVU administrators, who have worked for years to tone down or eliminate the party-school image, dismissed the survey.

"If you look at the schools on this list, they are mostly large, public universities with strong academic and research profiles, as well as highly successful athletic programs," said spokeswoman Becky Lofstead. "But in the big picture, clearly this list has no real credibility.

"As always, we focus on celebrating and supporting WVU's long history of academic achievements," she said. "Our students, faculty, alumni, parents and friends have made it clear that is their focus as well."

Late Monday, however, police announced they issued 100 citations for underage drinking between Friday and Sunday, the move-in weekend for the semester that started Monday.

They also issued 39 open-container violations and cited 11 people for "nuisance parties" as police stepped up neighborhood patrols. Seven people were charged with disorderly conduct, Chief Ed Preston said.

There were several criminal arrests as well, Preston said, including five for obstructing an officer, two for battery on an officer and three for drunken driving.

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Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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