Alcohol on College Campuses

Alcohol on College Campuses
By Josh Glazer

    Alcohol has been a major presence at colleges & Universities for at least the last 50 – 75 years.  It is accepted, even promoted, as a way of obtaining social adulthood through drunken relations with peers.  I would argue that even University Administrations have been actively supporting the practice of binge drinking by not doing anything about it –  until very recently.

    Alcohol is one of the most destructive drugs known to man.  As a Philosophy Professor, I have read countless papers about how dangerous alcohol is compared to Marijuana, usually in the form of an argument towards the legalization of weed.  My point is simple: alcohol is dangerous, and costs thousands of lives, yearly.  And yet you can end up in jail for possession of Marijuana, which has killed NOBODY.  At least, not directly!

    Another example might serve to illustrate the lack of logic regarding normative alcohol policy.  The USA Government allowed Pharmaceutical corporations, as well as independent MDs, to distribute countless amounts of opioids in the form of Oxycontin and the like, and then suddenly decided, after they made enough money, to cut off the supply with no national institution to deal with the obvious aftermath of widespread opioid addiction.  Now, we have MILLIONS of Americans who have turned to Heroin to fulfill their previous addiction to legal opioid pain pills, which they now cannot obtain. 

    Alcohol is a dangerous drug that should not be prevalent during one’s college years.  It’s detrimental effects have been obvious to me, personally, and the peer pressure involved made things much worse.  A person is still developing and learning while in college – over indulging in alcohol as a routine rite of passage seems almost silly, in hindsight. 

Recently, however, some fraternities have chosen to have a ‘dry’ rush, inviting students to pledge, while not offering alcohol at their official rush activities.  After personally viewing the aftermath of such a policy, the lack of drinking, peer pressure, and dangerous drunken hijinks, were noticeable to a high degree.  It fostered a much greater level of community, and is a model for how colleges should be in the future: a place to learn and form relationships - without the specter of alcohol constantly looming in the background.

    In conclusion, alcohol is just as dangerous and deadly a drug as any other, legal or illegal, and its almost total social acceptance can only be explained as an accident of history.  Some Universities have finally begun to realize that alcohol should not be a basic part of the college curriculum, and are actively enforcing that idea.  Other organizations are following their lead and cracking down on alcohol abuse within their own ranks.  I think this is a positive goal to head towards, and I hope that in the future, alcohol use and promotion will be dramatically reduced on college campuses, nationwide.