In an effort to battle the scourge that is alcohol consumption on college campuses, some universities have considered scheduling more classes early Friday mornings.
University of Missouri-Columbia professor Phillip K. Wood co-authored a study concluding college students enrolled in early morning Friday classes consumed about half as much alcohol on Thursdays as those without Friday classes.
Wood decided that while the results were significant enough to recommend universities schedule more Friday classes, and several other universities are considering the switch, he noted early classes are only part of the solution and wouldn’t solve the greater drinking problem.
And while early Friday classes would likely deter some students from drinking on Thursdays, the scheduling certainly wouldn’t keep the greater MSU community from abstaining from the bottle.
Most students are competent adults capable of making their own personal decisions and don’t need a more stringent schedule that only serves to dictate those decisions.
There are far more pressing issues university officials should worry about before they begin monitoring student activity on the weekends.
The study reported that students without Friday morning classes consumed an average of 2.41 drinks on Thursdays.
The study did not specify whether the students questioned were underage or not, but if students old enough to legally drink choose to have two beers on an average Thursday, there isn’t a problem. The real problem comes when students practice binge drinking, which is dangerous for the individual and the people around him or her.
Yet, since the beginning of this school year, Meridian Township police have been working with the East Lansing Police Department and the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office to run plainclothes operations in the area to catch underage drinkers.
Yes, underage drinking is a crime and shouldn’t be tolerated by law enforcement officials, but officers have been going into bars, undercover, specifically seeking out people who look underage and checking their IDs.
It’s important to distinguish between binge drinking and underage drinking — the former is dangerous and irresponsible regardless of the drinker’s age, and the second, while illegal, can be done safely and responsibly.
If police officers truly want to look out for the best interests of the students, perhaps they should start targeting the person falling off the barstool with keys in hand before they ID the first person they meet with a baby face.
In the end, proactive measures to curb alcohol use and abuse around college campuses will never make a revolutionary impact since students always have and always will find a way to drink.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
