"Do drugs, (sleep with) f* natives, get credit -- back in the 80's and stuff"

For what it's worth, I honestly never heard of a motto like that, either official (of course not, but the word "motto" implies it) or as a joke. I was with FW was mid-70s to mid-80s.

Perhaps some people said it among themselves. I can't say they didn't, but it would be a bad joke that doesn't have much to do with the real situation. That wasn't how students got credit. People who jerked off didn't get very far. The journal was a big hurdle, maybe too big. If anything, the "portfolio of learning" was meant to make it easier for people to document their learning.

Not to say sex and drugs weren't happening (probably more often among FWers rather than with locals would be my guess) but students who treated that as the main course wouldn't have much to write about, at least for credit. I can't think of anyone who did that and got very far in FWC.

Also, the word "natives" is pretty derogatory. I don't know who talked like that. It's sort of militaristic empire-speak, isn't it? It's just a stupid joke if it doesn't correspond with reality enough to be funny.

So my guess is that this is a joke that came with the new regime in the '90s, for people telling themselves that the program was much more rigorous than in the "old days." It might reflect a more cavalier attitute toward world education, in an era when overseas programs had become much more common, so there might be some spill-over from those other programs.

The two stories you give in your blog, Brett, are more typical of how people do know a lot about what others are up to and experiences they've had on opposite ends of the earth. There's also a fair amount of written communication which tends to ensure some accuracy on the more sensational events.