Lax, trusting drinking culture key to healthy consumption
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.