Beer Pong 101?

We had "Quarters" and "Pass out", they have "Beer Pong" and "Ice Luges." College kids like to drink alcohol. It has been a fact of life on campuses for decades. But, it is time that colleges and society as a whole start to deal with college students and binge drinking in a sensible way. The way we deal with it now is not working at all.

Colleges walk a fine line between telling parents they have a zero tolerance policy for alcohol use among underage students, and then not wanting to have to arrest and expel students that violate the policy. Let's face it, if every underage student that was drinking on a college campus got kicked out of that college, the colleges would be vast ghost towns. They would all go bankrupt.

Back in the early 1980's when I was in college, there was student drinking, and plenty of it. The difference was that the drinking age in CT, where I went to college, was 18. There were liquor stores that were able to deliver kegs, cases of beer, wine, and hard liquor to the dorms legally. Nobody needed to drive anywhere. All you had to do was pick up the phone and order it and it would come to you.

If you wanted to have a keg party in the dorm, you had to get a "party permit," from your RA and you had a limit as to how many could attend the party that was usually held in the basement of the dorm. You were required to provide snacks in addition to the alcohol. It was fairly under control, the RA and RD that were on duty checked in with the party periodically throughout the evening and called security to assist if anyone got out of hand, or became ill. Nobody was driving because it was mostly on campus students that attended these parties. So drunk driving was not much of an issue. We also had a pub located on campus that hosted live music on the weekends. Again, it was a short walk from the dorms to the pub. And if you were too drunk, they cut you off. There was a shuttle bus to take you back to your dorm if you couldn't walk back.

One other University sanctioned event we had every year was a "Folk Festival." This was an outdoor concert complete with beer truck. We all sat around on blankets, had beers, food, and listened to music. Again, the school was in control of what went on and had security guards & EMTs stationed all around the event.

I am not saying these drinking situations were ideal. There were still kids that drank way too much, got sick, got hurt, became belligerent, got into trouble. That is the nature of drinking alcohol. I am saying that the university had a little more control over the situation since the drinking was going on for the most part at parties and events that were known to officials, and at the pub that was run by the university. Drinking was not taboo, therefore it was not something you had to sneak. You could bring a bottle of wine to your room and share with your roommates without worrying about "getting caught."

It is the getting caught that adds extra appeal to drinking for many teens. A lot of them have come from families where the mere thought of them trying an alcoholic drink before they were 21 was completely out of the question. I disagree with this approach. I see no problem with a responsible 19 year old that is old enough to vote and give his/her life for his country to have a beer with his/her Mom & Dad at home. I am not suggesting they get drunk, just that if he or she learns how to handle an alcoholic beverage in the safety of their home, and how it makes them feel, it may take some of the taboo appeal out of it. Too many parents just ban it and don't ever have the discussion. Far fewer parents set the example of responsible drinking by doing it themselves.

Recently, I read an article that said many of the elite colleges like Harvard and Yale have instituted alcohol amnesty policies. They are stressing how to drink responsibly and how to get help for yourself or a friend if they are in medical trouble due to drinking. They stress that the students will suffer no negative consequences for calling for this help. I think these University Presidents have come to the conclusion that they cannot stop the drinking, so they might as well have the student do it in a safer manner. You can read the article here.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/20100421/ts_dailybeast/7665_harvardsalcoholamnestypolicy

I applaud their efforts because it is a reality of college life. Unless we establish Prohibition again, kids are going to drink alcohol, whether or not they are of the age to do so legally. They need to learn how to do it so they don't kill themselves/others and they need to feel comfortable enough to ask someone to be a designated driver or to be able to call a taxi or a sober friend to drive. They need to understand how important it is not to drive when drunk.

There is a balance here. I don't want the drunk driving statistics to go up, believe me.
I do think that lifting the taboo of drinking before the arbitrary age of 21 may reduce some of the abuse of alcohol, not all though. Parents play a large part in shaping their children's attitudes towards alcohol. And as far as colleges and universities, if they are going to advertise a "zero tolerance policy" for alcohol use by underage students, as most will tell you when you take the tours of campus, they need to enforce their policies or they will have zero credibility!