A Campus Dilemma: Mixing Alcohol with Education
A commentary by Graemme Marshall
United Church of God pastor, Ottawa, Canada
A recent near-riot
at the Queen's University's 'Homecoming' in Kingston,
Ontario, Canada raises the question, should education be routinely mixed
with alcohol?
The Kingston Whig-Standard's front page headline (September
27, 2005) reads: "Next year use water cannons, mayor says. City,
police vow changes in '06". This appeared the day after
a partying crowd of 7,000 students hit the streets. Some burned a car;
others pelted police and fire crews with bottles.
The evening for celebrating the 'Homecoming' at Queen's
University began with small front-yard parties that grew into a huge,
lawless mob smashing bottles and leaving pavements covered in broken
glass. The violent crowds hindered paramedics trying to reach a half-conscious
young woman in the middle of an intersection who was suffering from alcohol
poisoning.
Two mounted police took 15 minutes to clear a way for paramedics to
find her. The number of people requiring treatment for avoidable injuries
and drunkenness also created a major backlog of untreated patients at
hospital emergency rooms.
A follow-up headline three weeks later read: "Police bill Queen's
$84,000." Police delivered this expensive bill to University officials
after making 33 charges for 22 criminal offenses. Kingston plans a tougher
response for 2006. Current plans call for Tasers, pepper spray, tear
gas, a riot squad of 60 officers and a dozen more on horseback.
Alcoholic 'rites of passage' are widespread in
North American culture. School partying is viewed as the acceptable 'growing
up' experience for college-age students. According to one
California college, "Students generally feel that experiences with
alcohol are part of growing up, and hence should be part of the social
education that Colleges offer."
But is this practice all that beneficial to the participating students?
Look at some of the most obvious consequences! Stanford Magazine has
reported that the average college student spends $900 a year on alcohol—compared
with $450 on books!
A 1997 Harvard School of Public Health report found that almost 43
percent of American college students binge at least once every two
weeks. These students are more likely to sexually assault or harass
their classmates, destroy property or disturb the peace (Stanford
Alumni News, 2000).
The Denver Post reports that in December of 2004
a Colorado State University Sigma Pi fraternity was disbanded after
a popular CSU sophomore was found dead from alcohol poisoning in the
fraternity house. She had consumed as many as 40 drinks at parties before
she went to Sigma Pi.
Pomona College—in the Los Angeles suburb of Claremont, California—conducted
an in-depth study in 2002 of its alcohol culture. The report disclosed
that first-year students are more prone to alcohol problems because they
are often inexperienced, away from home for the first time and with the
added freedom of college. Being under-age they tend to 'front load':
to drink heavily in a short period of time before a social event in order
to remain drunk throughout its duration.
Because the majority of them drink on campus, students in dorms live
in an environment where alcohol is prevalent. Their sleep and study habits
are affected. Their involvement in property damage and vandalism also
increases.
Driving under the influence, or riding in a vehicle with someone else
driving under the influence is another significant problem. The report
states, "'Last year at Pomona College there were nine official
outside agency response incidents involving alcohol where a student was
hospitalized" (Committee for Investigating the Alcohol Culture
at Pomona College, December 2003).
A respected authority makes plain the problem: "Alcohol is the
third-largest killer in the United States, ranking behind heart disease
and cancer. If traffic fatalities and death certificate diagnoses related
to alcoholic use were included in the statistics, alcoholism would be
recognized as our nation's number one killer" (Mayo Clinic
Family Health Book, page 326).
This quote and much more information is available in the informative
booklet offered free of charge below. As explained in the section "Alcohol
use and abuse," even though the Bible does not forbid all moderate
uses of alcoholic beverages it does give very strong warnings against
using them excessively.
Abuse of alcohol is a threat to more than just one's physical
health. It is equally a threat to one's spiritual health. And it
clearly has serious consequences for students who choose to mix frequent
and excessive alcohol consumption with their education.
 The
Bible reveals many keys to having a long and healthy life, job success,
financial security and happy families. We would like you to receive a
clear picture of these blessings, along with useful information on making
the most of your own and your children's educational
opportunities. Be sure to request or download now your free copy of our
booklet: Making Life Work.
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