Lax, trusting drinking culture key to healthy consumption

By Josh Redwine     3/10/11 6:00pm

As a freshman at Rice University last year, I was thrown into a new atmosphere of college parties and drinking that was largely unfamiliar to me. But, as I quickly learned, there was no safer or more open place than Rice when it came to alcohol policy. Through a combination of private gatherings, public parties and Rice EMS services, this campus struck a perfect balance when it came to providing freedom and safety for students. Never once when I was intoxicated at gatherings (private or public) did I feel I was in the least bit of danger. Knowing RUPD was usually reasonable and emergency services were available allowed students to party and have fun together without living in constant fear. Moreover, students at Rice constantly looked out for one another. This year, with the administration's new heavy-handed approach to alcohol policy, things have certainly changed for the worse. Let me first concede that the rise in Rice EMS intoxication calls this year is a troubling statistic, and a problem that students have been trying to address since it was brought to our attention. Although these EMS calls cannot simply be explained away, I certainly think that the administration has handled the issue poorly from the get -go. The alcohol forum was an effective means of creating an open dialogue, but it only involved a small portion of students who were willing and able to attend and was never followed up by a formal address from Dean of Undergraduates, John Hutchinson. Why now, only a month after the initial alcohol forum that was meant to get the students involved in the process, are we facing harsh sanctions from the administration? If the intent was to warn students about possible consequences and give them an opportunity to turn things around, a month is hardly enough time for 3,000 students to implement changes within the colleges and show a measurable improvement. The only thing the Rice administration has succeeded in doing is making themselves look responsible to outsiders and creating animosity amongst the student population.

We have all noticed this year that the administration has taken a harsher stance on private parties and private drinking. And, while these changes were made with good intentions, they have only exacerbated the very problems that the administration is trying to prevent. Now, as the entire campus faces probation and a draconian new policy on hard liquor, I can safely say that my fellow students and I feel far less trusted and understood by the Rice administration, and we know that their new attitude is only going to lead to more problems. These new policies are entirely misguided, and I, for one, am appalled that a university which claims to put so much trust in students has replaced a student-friendly attitude with Hutchinson's harsh new anti-alcohol approach. These new policies have not, and will not, prevent minors from drinking on campus and the fact is that they will only lead to further problems as students take part in more dangerous behaviors. Although this article does not address all of the issues regarding alcohol consumption on campus, I think it is important for the administration to understand that there are legitimate concerns from students.

Prior to this year, private parties made drinking a safe, social activity by allowing students to feel comfortable when drinking and allowing a group of students to watch out for one another. Now that the administration has cracked down on private parties, they have pushed students into small rooms where binge-drinking becomes more of a problem because students want to get their drinking done quickly and out of sight. This creates an environment of fear that I never witnessed last year. Moreover, while the use of EMS statistics to inform students of problems on campus is certainly useful, the focus the administration has placed on these calls as proof of alcohol issues is problematic. It instills fear in students and stops them from using the emergency services that are sometimes needed. One of the things that has made Rice EMS so effective is the ability to use the service without fear of punishment. When you tell students drinking and providing hard alcohol will have strict consequences and EMS calls are how you gauge the problem, it will only lead them to stay quiet in situations where students' lives are at stake. Finally, one of the greatest aspects of Rice culture is the college-centered social life that takes place on campus. If the administration continues to crack down on partying and drinking, they will only succeed in pushing Rice's social life off campus. Parties will move to student apartments and houses, far from the safety and services offered by on-campus parties.

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These changes are a major cause for concern amongst students who felt safe and drank responsibly before our supposed problems began. Policies like this new probationary ban on hard alcohol will not lead to less alcohol consumption on campus, and in fact are entirely counter-productive. Does the administration really think it is a coincidence that the same year they begin cracking down on parties is the year that intoxication calls increased? The fact is that, prior to this school year, my fellow students and I felt comfortable partying on campus in moderation, watching out for one another and understanding that the university's administration trusted us to make good decisions. Instead, this year, we have been pushed into hiding, and binge drinking has become a problem. The Culture of Care only works when students feel safe and can watch out for one another. That is lost entirely in a system where mistrust and a decidedly negative attitude toward alcohol drive university policy. We all realize that underage drinking is illegal and officially prohibited, and I am not asking the university to condone that behavior. As far as I'm concerned, the best hope Hutchinson and the rest of the administration have of curtailing drinking problems is going back to the atmosphere and attitude that existed prior to this year's crackdown. Let us hope no student has to die before the administration comes to its senses.

Josh Redwine is a McMurtry College sophomore .

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