Rollins No.7 on Playboy party list

Rollins College is the hardest-partying small school in the country, according to the 2010 Playboy Party Schools list.

In fact, it's No. 7 on the magazine's top 10 list of party schools, alongside the University of Miami, which came in at No. 4.

"It's not the size of a school," the magazine wrote about Rollins, "it's the commotion its students cause when they collectively rage."

But officials at the oldest postsecondary institution in Florida dismiss the spot on the list as meaningless.

"We don't take this ranking seriously," said Rollins spokeswoman Ann Marie Varga. "The ranking criteria is a farce and there's no statistical validity."

This isn't the first time Rollins has appeared on the list. In 2002, Rollins came in at No. 3, Playboy spokesman Steve Mazeika said. Last year, Playboy did a top 25 list and Rollins was No. 17.

Varga said the college's 2002 ranking was the result of a fraternity prank and has since stayed on the magazine's radar.

"Fraternity guys did a write-in campaign in 2002," said Rhona Ovist, associate professor of sociology and women's studies at Rollins. "The comments were very degrading to women."

This year's application for the Top Party Schools list included four determining questions: Why is your school a party school? Best party (and why)? Hottest group of girls (and why)? Anything else we should know?

"They're linking drinking with sex and the sexualization of young girls, and they're not saying at all how they came to decide," Ovist said.

Mazeika said Playboy's editors, with input from the magazine's campus representatives, models, photographers, online voters and student readers, determine the rankings. He said the list is meant to be a "lighthearted feature" that doesn't promote underage drinking and partying.

"It highlights schools where students can receive an excellent education while maintaining a safe, healthy and active social life," he said.

Ovist said media outlets have been picking up the list and running with it as "a truth," and not offering any criticism. It perpetuates the stereotypes of the "hypermasculine man" and the "hypersexualized woman," she said.

"It's all about selling raunchy magazines and beer and liquor," she said.

Mazieka said the list, and Playboy as a whole, is not tarnishing women's images.

"Playboy has been instrumental in defining acceptable boundaries of sexuality, and images in Playboy are romantic, respectful and healthy," he said.

Florida State University and the University of Florida have also made the list, but UCF hasn't, he said.

University of Miami fell from the top party school to No. 4 this year, and the editors seem to attribute it to pressure from school officials.

"But being named our [No. 1] party school became a bit of an albatross, and the man soon ramped up mellow-harshing," the magazine wrote.

Rollins students are likely getting similar criticism from the school's leaders.

"When I saw the ranking, I thought, oh boy, here we go again," Ovist said. "The trustees must love this. All the work we do trying to create positive images and Playboy goes calling us the party school."

Rollins' Varga said the school has other rankings to focus on.

"We are consistently ranked first in the South in our category by U.S. News & World Report — that we take seriously," she said.