This is to you, University of Oregon.
This is to all of you proud ducks who flew south for the weekend and left traces of yourselves scattered across Slaughterhouse Island.
I write this not to sound arrogant or presumptuous or pretentious; I am not standing on a white pedestal as if I am free of all faults.
Rather, I write this as a fellow Oregonian and a fellow college student and a fellow Shasta-goer. From the school 47 miles north of the freeway, I write this to ask the question that is on everyone's mind:
What the actual f*ck?
From abandoned tents filled with vomit to condoms and feces and a littering of U of O gear, you single-handedly embarrassed tens of thousands of university students across the Pacific Northwest.
For decades, students from Oregon State University—the school a mere 47 miles north of you—have been making the 5-hour drive to Shasta Lake in California for a weekend of drinking, partying, and joyous camaraderie.
We haven't been without our few tragedies and regretful moments—for the sake of transparency, even a few deaths—but we carry the legacy of those mistakes and misfortunes with us every year and we have learned how to party responsibly.
Yes, we do drugs.
Yes, we binge drink.
Yes, we burn bonfires and scramble across rocks and clay.
But we also take drug and alcohol awareness classes and provide ample amounts of food and water to ensure no one takes a turn for the worst. We also have established a good relationship with the Shasta County police department and we are the first to reach out to them if something does go wrong.
Most importantly, we look out for each other and we hold each other accountable.
Apparently, you wouldn't find a Duck scrambling across the island in a hungover stupor picking up countless cans, bottles, and a myriad of other garbage at 5:30 in the morning... but that is what you'll find us doing.
This is not a matter of "us vs them" or a shallow cross-town rivalry. This is a matter of holding you accountable—all of you.
Because it wasn't just the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity who made the unfortunate mistake of forgetting a cooler with their chapter's letters on the island.
Because it wasn't just the other unmentioned Greek Life houses that drove down to Shasta Lake for the weekend.
Because it wasn't just the administration or the President who disassociated themselves with this event.
No, this goes out to all of you who represent this beautiful state we live in by way of your colors and creed.
Green. It means different things to different people—to some it means money, to others it means jealousy. In this beautiful corner of the country, it means respect; it is therespect for the land and the water and the community of human beings that share it with you.
Hell, it's even one of your university's colors.