In response to Anupama Sridaran’s letter Students need to understand consequences of drinking (SN 4/23), Anupama is correct in stating there is a large percentage of underage drinking on college campuses throughout the United States. Anupama is also correct in stating that in some cases, the use and abuse of alcohol can be a detriment to the studies and career paths of some students.
There are, however, many other activities that can be just as detrimental to a student’s academics. Intramural sports, when played in excess, will lead to extreme fatigue, loss of time and potentially even excessive exuberance.
Many students after a long night of IM soccer matches simply cannot handle doing their homework. Attending sporting events similarly can lead to fatigue (if you’re in the student section, anyway), many hours away from the books and extreme fits of happiness (if you’re at the Final Four) or perhaps depression (if you’re reliving Notre Dame in 2006).
My point is, responsibility, not alcohol, is the cause of studies going to the wayside. Alcohol is used as a way of celebrating.
Alcohol is a way to loosen up social situations. Alcohol is used as a symbol even in some religious ceremonies (Christianity and Judaism). Alcohol is a part of everyday life, and part of becoming a responsible adult is knowing when use is acceptable, and when it simply should not happen.
As one who does not judge anyone who has chosen to abstain from the use of alcohol, I ask why someone that does not abstain from using a legal substance should be judged for their actions.
Additionally, the university should neither be permitted nor allowed to interfere with the lives of students beyond the classroom setting. Allowing, and accepting, such actions to occur would be a wild overreach of the university’s mandate to educate, not babysit, its students.
As a tax paying citizen of Michigan, I personally do not want to see my tax dollars wasted on more bureaucratic rules that go beyond MSU’s first priority when tuition and housing rates continue to increase at incredible rates. This is after the already existing ban of alcoholic beverages on MSU’s campus on days other than football Saturdays.
The United States, despite having the highest drinking age in the world, continues to have the highest rates of binge drinking and drunken driving. With an appropriate (and slow) decrease in the drinking age, those numbers could be cut drastically as students become less interested in “getting drunk” and more interested in enjoying a drink.
The key, again, is responsibility. The federal government, state government, university and students need to work together to create a more reasonable and responsible drinking environment.
Adam Blaylock
international relations junior
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