Playboy’s Top 10 party schools: 1. University of Colorado at Boulder 2. Pennsylvania State University 3. Arizona State University 4. University of Western Ontario 5. University of Texas at Austin 6. University of Wisconsin 7. University of Georgia 8. University of Tennessee, Knoxville 9. University of Central Florida 10. University of California, Santa Barbara

Playboy magazine this week crowned the University of Colorado the nation’s No. 1 party school, saying the Boulder campus “is home to reefer madness,” thanks to its annual 4/20 smokeout and proximity to the city’s ample medical marijuana dispensaries.

Among the other selling points for Playboy’s party-gauging editors: Boulder is a “beer drinker’s paradise” and the campus is close to “dozens of world-class ski resorts,” according to the magazine.

The ranking — which Playboy announced online Wednesday (click at your own risk; there is nudity on that page) as part of its issue hitting newsstands Friday — comes eight years after CU topped a similar party-school list compiled by Princeton Review.

Such lists long have irritated CU leaders, and Boulder campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard said Wednesday that Playboy’s ranking gives an inaccurate picture of CU’s total student experience.

Plus, he quipped, “I’m disappointed we didn’t do better in Playboy’s rankings of the atomic, molecular and optical physics programs — which U.S. News and World Report ranks us as No. 1, tied with MIT.”

According to a blurb posted on Playboy’s website, CU received the party school crown because:

“CU-Boulder is home to reefer madness. Not only does Boulder have 50 medical-marijuana dispensaries within its city limits, but every April nearly half the university’s 24,000-plus undergrads turn out for the annual 4/20 smokeout on school grounds. Boulder is also a beer drinker’s paradise, with four breweries in town. ‘There are a lot of distractions from school-snowboarding, mountain biking, super hot girls,’ says one alum. Literally dozens of world-class ski resorts are a drive away. You know Boulder is a party school because whenever you tell someone that you went there, the first thing they ask is, ‘Did you graduate?'”

CU’s Boulder campus also was named the No. 1 party school in the country in 2003 by Princeton Review. Last year, Princeton Review — which is not affiliated with Princeton University — ranked CU No. 6 for “Reefer Madness,” No. 13 for “Lots of Hard Liquor” and No. 16 for top “Party Schools.”

Henry “Hank” Smith, a CU sophomore from the Los Angeles area, said when he was applying to colleges, his parents dissuaded him from going to the University of California’s Santa Barbara campus because of its party school reputation. (Incidentally, UC Santa Barbara landed at No. 10 on Playboy’s new list.)

“Every school is a party school,” Smith said.

Smith said that he saw some push among students on Facebook to get CU noticed by Playboy in the rankings.

Yet Smith agreed that, that given the scope of the 4/20 marijuana smokeout slated for next Wednesday, the Playboy ranking probably is warranted. He’s had friends he hasn’t heard from in years ask if they can come stay with him so that they can witness the smokeout on Norlin Quad, which has drawn as many as 10,000 pot enthusiasts.

But, like last year, Smith said he’ll likely be in class that day.

For some CU students, the new Playboy ranking garnered just a few chuckles.

“I don’t care,” said Sarah Mathews, a CU junior. “I’m in the music school and I don’t think we’re real party-y.”

Beth Barnadyn, who was visiting the campus from Phoenix on Wednesday and will start graduate school next fall in Boulder, said the party reputation doesn’t concern her. She’ll likely be living in Longmont, or outside of Boulder, she said.

“I won’t be partying, and I don’t care what others do,” Barnadyn said.

According to a news release from Playboy, the rankings were determined by input from students, “fans” of Playboy’s Facebook page, alumni and several interviews. Other factors taken into consideration included “male-female” ratios, academics and the winning percentage of sports teams, as well as the proximity to beaches — or ski slopes.

CU’s Hilliard, in defending the campus’s reputation, noted that the number of alcohol-related cases at CU has decreased dramatically over the past couple years.

In 2007-2008, the Office of Student Conduct, formerly known as the Office of Judicial Affairs, dealt with 3,134 alcohol-related cases, which includes students busted for underage drinking. In 2009-2010, that number dropped to 2,484.

“We’re showing some progress on our messaging about partying and alcohol and safety,” Hilliard said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.











