For years, I’ve been reading propaganda from the higher ed establishment about all the non-educational social benefits that we enjoy because kids go to college. Besides all the brilliance they get from their studies, society benefits because college grads show more civic engagement, commit fewer crimes, and lead healthier lives. (A book I recently read, Privatization and the Public Good by Matthew Lambert is an excellent example of this kind of cheerleading.)

The obvious problem is that those are mere correlations. There isn’t any reason to believe that an individual who is naturally prone to ignoring elections, stealing, and smoking will change if he goes to college. But, at least as far as the health claim goes, the correlation itself is questionable. Reuters reports today that “daily pot smoking on U.S. college campuses is at 35-year high.” Furthermore, the percentage of college students using any illicit drug rose to 41 percent in 2014, up from 34 percent in 2006. Not so healthy.

The college experience might be good for some students, but probably an equal number pick up behaviors that hurt them. Pitching college as a great national boon for its claimed lifestyle benefits is just as irresponsible as pitching it as a way to ensure yourself a million dollar earnings bonus.