Defeating stereotypes key to college students gaining respect

Have you ever wondered why college students are always perceived differently than what they really are? Many older adults think that our generation is a bunch of crazy party animals. While some of those stereotypes may be true, most of them are not.
I have noticed that many classes are discussing why universities and the students who attend them are portrayed completely opposite of what they truly are. One of the conclusions that we, as students, have come up with is that television and movies are to blame.
Television and movies always seem to represent college students as young adults who like to party, stay out late, and completely put aside their studies. While having an active social life is part of the college experience, I feel that this picture is extremely muddled.
While on campus I have heard many students tell of how their lives are so full of activities, whether school or work related, that they have absolutely no time to sleep. This creates a problem because many college students suffer from sleep deprivation and they don't even know it.
What causes this lack of sleep you might ask? Many working adults would say that we party too much and that we stay out too late at night. This is where Hollywood has caused a misunderstanding.
The truth is that we spend hours in class throughout the day, many of us have jobs that we are expected to work a minimum of 20 hours a week, plus school requires study time that usually takes up the evening and most of the night and early morning.
When you consider all of the factors that play into the life of a college student you can easily see why we are deprived of sleep.
What are some obvious causes of this perception that many have?
Have you ever seen the hit MTV series "Undressed?" This show depicts college students with nothing but raging hormones. In reality there are some who fit into this category, but many are not even concerned with that.
What about the MTV Spring Break Specials? Spring Break is a time to have fun and take a break from school, but I am sure that I am not the only student who has had class work to finish during that week. If what goes on at these specials were halfway true, then MTV would lose ratings.
Movies also help this stereotype out quite a bit. Ones such as American Pie, Legally Blonde, and Gossip show college students as nothing more than party animals who are very lazy about their studies.
I feel that if we, as students, want to gain more respect from people, we need to show them that we are nothing like what is shown on television.
What is heard around campus and what our daily lives are actually like does not compare to what is seen on TV and in movies.
Having an avid social life does not mean that college students are crazy and party too much. There is so much more that people do not see about college life, like classes, jobs, studying and extra curricular activities that they end up losing sleep over.
If the media world would grow up and understand that college is more about studying and passing classes than partying and staying out late, our generation might earn a little more respect.