There are some Penn Staters who cringe at the thought of their university being one of the nation's top party schools.

Others are peeved by the fact that we're not considered No. 1.

But the vast majority of rational thinkers have one reaction: Who cares?

Penn State's ranking as the number two party school in the nation by the Princeton Review has certainly caused a stir across the state. Newspapers including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the York Daily Record reported on the "honor."

Undoubtedly, a few Penn State students have rejoiced in the recognition and reacted by putting links in their profiles to the so-called bragging rights or by toasting the Princeton Review at a weekend party.

On the other end are the university's public relations and police departments, which relentlessly condemn underage and binge drinking in response to the survey.

And while the annual review draws publicity every year it is released, it is important to realize how insignificant the ranking really is.

It's the same schools shuffled from year to year. Just last year Penn State was ranked as number 12.

Common sense explains why Penn State might appear on the list annually. There's a lot of students, about 42,000 to be exact. And a lot of students easily translates into a lot of drinkers.

Yes, there's underage drinking here. There's even binge drinking. More than a few of us abuse alcohol on a regular basis.

Beer pong's practically guaranteed at any party.

But that's not what Penn State is about, and it's certainly not what its students are about.

This year, U.S. News and World Report ranked Penn State as the No. 38 business school, No. 19 engineering school and the No. 29 education school.

Washington Monthly ranked the university earlier this year as the No. 3 school for contributions to society.

And five Big 10 championships last year prove how exceptional our athletic programs are.

No one would ever question the quality of a Penn State education based on the university's ranking as a top party school. And if they do, they're missing the point of going to college.

Most of us are here because we genuinely want a quality education and a decent-paying job after we graduate.

In the meantime, we just like to have a good time.