Is A Dry Campus Really Worth It?

Every year, 1,700 college students drink themselves to death. This alarming statistic has motivated University leaders to introduce legislation to control or ban the use of alcohol in colleges nationwide.

Many campuses, including the University of Oregon’s, prohibit all students regardless of age from possessing alcohol in school facilities unless cleared by the school. This includes sporting events, Greek Life houses and functions, campus events, and residence halls with the exception of legal age drinkers, who may drink in their dorm rooms as long as the door is closed.

Even though U of O’s policies strive to make alcohol a non-issue, drinking is obviously a huge factor in the experience of any Duck. I ventured out recently to a campus area party for Cinco de Mayo, and in the span of two blocks, I saw three people vomiting, two couples hooking up on a lawn, and four people carrying two drunk friends. All these people with questionable-to-obvious alcohol poisoning had me asking an age-old question: “Does prohibition work, especially with young, feisty co-eds?”

The answer, sadly, is no. In theory, “dry” campuses ban alcohol to discourage drinking, emphasize academia, and reduce crime. However, since students face steep fines and other reprimands if caught with booze on campus, many people find off-campus apartments to get their drink on. This can lead to drunk driving, walking alone and potentially getting attacked, and other dangerous acts. It seems that making alcohol something to be afraid of or hide makes people consume more in potentially reckless ways.

Recent studies have also shown that binge drinking is much more prevalent on campuses where Greek Life is dominant and sports teams are a huge deal – two factors that make “celebrating” a weekly occurrence for hundreds of Ducks.

Additionally, since there is no regulation at off-campus parties (Greek Life excluded), many students accept drinks without knowing the source or even the contents. (Trash can full of “jungle juice,” anyone?) Some students may feel that since they are around their peers, it is safe to drink what’s already available, such as an open beer offered by a friendly party-goer, or a “cocktail” delivered in a water bottle or other ambiguous container. This makes it hard to keep track of how much they’re actually drinking. Common sense and previous generations of smart women tell us to never accept drinks from strangers – especially unmarked or open containers – but at off-campus parties, students under the influence sometimes fail to remember that small but vital rule, since they just want to get a buzz like everyone else does.

You might ask yourself, wouldn’t allowing alcohol encourage even MORE drinking? That depends on the individual, but the benefits of allowing alcohol at school functions are regulations that make consumption much safer for students. Sections of Norte Dame and Duke University’s alcohol policies state that at a function where alcohol is present and the school is represented, there must be a licensed bar tender to serve alcohol, which has additional restrictions based on the type of spirit, size of the bottle, etc. Other notable universities have similar policies to regulate students’ drinking without micromanaging their behavior. Even our legal Beaver neighbors at OSU can drink at school events! These types of measures will encourage safe party habits by eliminating mysterious community containers and bringing students together for a unified (albeit tipsy) campus.