08-23-2016, 11:32 PM
Great post, and I agree wholeheartedly, particularly with many of your proposed solutions.
I think on an earlier thread, someone mentioned that there are places where something like designated drivers exist to make sure people are safe with alcohol (help them stop, walk them home if they've had too much). I would love to see that implemented at Stanford. Get volunteers and even pay people to go to parties and keep classmates safe. I would have volunteered or done the job.
I think one of the challenges we face generally is that because underage drinking is illegal, full stop, the university cannot use freshman year to introduce students to moderate drinking. If it were legal to drink at 16 or 18 (as in much of the rest of the world), the University could sponsor cool beer and wine events for freshmen that showcase drinking in moderation. I mean how cool would it be to have a wine appreciation class where you learn how to drink wine for an end in itself, and not as a means of getting drunk. Alas, the university has to operate within the framework of California laws, which pretty much means that the university cannot encourage moderate drinking behavior (in lieu of binge drinking) in underage students. By the time they become 21-year-old seniors, the behavior is engrained.
But if you can somehow get the legal age upperclassmen to value responsible drinking, that will affect the culture going down and indirectly influence underclassmen.
The other thing is again, that students need to know that they need to step up and get help for their classmates who have problems with alcohol. Again, this goes back to the punishment thing... nobody is going to seek help for a friend if binge drinking (or underage drinking) is viewed as a disciplinary problem. On the other hand, if it is viewed as an opportunity to help someone, students will be more likely to approach their RA's or University staff and say "I'm concerned about so and so".
Nobody said this would be easy.
BC
I think on an earlier thread, someone mentioned that there are places where something like designated drivers exist to make sure people are safe with alcohol (help them stop, walk them home if they've had too much). I would love to see that implemented at Stanford. Get volunteers and even pay people to go to parties and keep classmates safe. I would have volunteered or done the job.
I think one of the challenges we face generally is that because underage drinking is illegal, full stop, the university cannot use freshman year to introduce students to moderate drinking. If it were legal to drink at 16 or 18 (as in much of the rest of the world), the University could sponsor cool beer and wine events for freshmen that showcase drinking in moderation. I mean how cool would it be to have a wine appreciation class where you learn how to drink wine for an end in itself, and not as a means of getting drunk. Alas, the university has to operate within the framework of California laws, which pretty much means that the university cannot encourage moderate drinking behavior (in lieu of binge drinking) in underage students. By the time they become 21-year-old seniors, the behavior is engrained.
But if you can somehow get the legal age upperclassmen to value responsible drinking, that will affect the culture going down and indirectly influence underclassmen.
The other thing is again, that students need to know that they need to step up and get help for their classmates who have problems with alcohol. Again, this goes back to the punishment thing... nobody is going to seek help for a friend if binge drinking (or underage drinking) is viewed as a disciplinary problem. On the other hand, if it is viewed as an opportunity to help someone, students will be more likely to approach their RA's or University staff and say "I'm concerned about so and so".
Nobody said this would be easy.
BC