Great article -- I really identify a lot with the culture the author describes, particularly the way liberal arts students often scorn the sciences and tear down the Western canon without bothering to read it. It's a shame.
As to the drug abuse and alcoholism, Bob Dylan put it really well in "Like A Rolling Stone":
"You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely,
But you know you only used to get juiced in it."
People who go through college the like the author realize, deep down, that they are not getting an education. And some of them also realize that eventually, being a fraud catches up with everyone -- even if it's only in the form of a personal revelation.
As to the drug abuse and alcoholism, Bob Dylan put it really well in "Like A Rolling Stone":
"You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely, But you know you only used to get juiced in it."
People who go through college the like the author realize, deep down, that they are not getting an education. And some of them also realize that eventually, being a fraud catches up with everyone -- even if it's only in the form of a personal revelation.