Letter to the Editor: Support for new alcohol policies

I think we might be in trouble. Why, I ask rhetorically? The answer is because the most pressing issue amongst our students, me included, seems to be the new alcohol policy. Before I go any further and give people the wrong idea, I’ll stop myself because the point of this piece isn’t to condemn the behavioral patterns of a college student. It is, in fact, something wholly different.

Maybe it’s just me, but I personally think that this new alcohol policy is a step in the right direction. The reason for this is that, simply put, anything would have been better than the previous one. The old one was punitive, didn’t correct the problem and was a disaster in situations where people who were legally allowed to drink were living with students who were not, and alcohol was being consumed.

The new policy seems to try to prevent another serious alcohol incident from happening again, which is, of course, the best recourse to take in the wake of the events that took place last spring. Sure, the policy has some cutthroat wording and will actually be enforced, but I think it’s by far a fairer way of doing business. Granted, any alcohol policy is a real “buzz kill” for the typical college student on weekends and some weekdays. But in terms of a program that really seems to be out to keep the well-being of students intact, I’d say this is one of the better ones.

In fact, life in the residence halls remains largely the same. The people who are hit hardest by it are the Greek houses, and to you Greeks, I will say I understand your frustration. The same standards weren’t being applied to you as were in the regular housing areas. I will also say, with the utmost respect to your members, it’s only fair, not right or wrong, that you are held to the same standards as we who live in the residence halls are.

So what does all this mean? Just that I think the University’s approach to alcohol has made a drastic change for the better, especially when concerning itself with the actual safety of the student body rather than punitive measures. Does it change things? Well, yes, it most certainly does; however, the policy before it was by no means a real step in any direction and was muddled and confusing. Will it work? I suppose that is only an answer that time can provide.

—Andrew Kaspereen
Junior, Secondary Education