The famous red solo cup is “every party’s most popular guest”. For over 75 years (Silverman), the plastic social staple has symbolized family fun and college Saturday nights. The original red solo cup was introduced in the 1970’s (Silverman) and since then has inspired countless costumes, songs, and classroom crafts. My first experience with the red solo cup was at a Thanksgiving dinner, I must have been five or six, I remember my father dipping the ladle into the punch bowl and pouring the sherbet, 7up, and OJ concoction into the plastic red drinking vessel. I remember feeling excited about holding the red solo cup instead of a traditional glass cup — even as a kindergartener I understood that the red solo cup symbolized celebration.
How did the red solo cup become a symbol of good times? Surely the quality of the design played a part. “Made of thick, molded polystyrene,” the party cup can be squeezed, dropped, and battered- “all while maintaining the shape of functionality.” Functioning as a key component of Flip Cup and Beer Pong, you can be sure to find a red solo cup in any college student’s dorm or apartment (Stevenson).
Though the red plastic cup “captures and contributes to the spirit of the occasion” (D’Costa) I feel that the party cup carries a darker and more discrete narrative than what may meet the eye. For years there has been the debate over the “one I five statistic” which comes from a 2007 study for the US Department of Justice, concluding that one in five women are sexually assaulted on college campuses (Wallace). A newer study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Heath, found that 19%, nearly one in five women at a large unnamed private university in upstate New York, had been a victim of attempted or completed rape, either by force or while they were incapacitated due to alcohol or drugs (Wallace).
Thinking about these horrific statistics, I cannot help but to cognitively sketch the environments that these abuses took place and the attackers themselves — a meaty frat guy, a sticky-floored basement, and a red solo cup. Many victims of sexual assault are under the influence of alcohol, or drugs, when they are attacked. “Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages alike find themselves comfortably enclosed within the confines of the bright red vessel,” (D’Costa) the alcohol that increases vulnerability and ultimately leads to the mistreatment of women is transported, from point A to point B, by the red solo cup.
Figuratively speaking, the red cup is the oblivious clerk who sells the aggregated man the gun, the disconnected cop who doesn’t investigative his inquires and counts the noise complaint as a “bogus call”, or the parent too in denial to send their heroin addict daughter to rehab. Not the assailant but the vehicle, accessory, or “piece to the larger puzzle” that makes the story possible.
For some the red solo cup will always be synonymous with barbeques, tailgates, and keggers, but for others the recent and disturbing reports of sexual abuse that link the rape of collegiate women to alcohol and parties disrupts the cup’s joyful reputation. The cup, which is traditionally viewed as a happy party essential, is now a brutal reminder of abuse for the victims and their loved ones.
Works Cited
Silverman, Lauren. "The Red Solo Cup: Every Party's Most Popular Guest." NPR. NPR, 5 Nov. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Stevenson, Seth. "How the Red Solo Cup Became an American Party Staple." Slate. The Slate Group. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
D'Costa, Krystal. "There's More to That Red Plastic Cup Than You Thought." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 29 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Wallace, Kelly. "Study Has More Disturbing Findings about Campus Rape of Freshman Women." CNN. Cable News Network, 20 May 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
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