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Because school dances have been tied to high instances of excessive drunkenness, Occidental’s administration has taken a large, noticeable step to ensure that students of the college drink responsibly and act with consideration for their fellow students. Following a string of alcohol poisonings during Saturday night’s annual Toga dance at Occidental, Assistant Dean of Students and Office of Student Life Director Tamara Rice confirmed that all-school dances will be indefinitely put on hiatus. This decision, however, only puts a band-aid on Occidental’s tenuous relationship with alcohol and responsibility.
Firstly, the alcohol poisonings at Occidental’s dance only distract from the fact that a hefty portion of students were reasonably intoxicated on Saturday night and behaved in an almost hazardously reckless manner. The night surely left Alpha Lamba Phi Alpha, who puts the event each year, Campus Safety and the others who made Toga possible with little reason to want to hold another dance for these students. Students cannot evade responsibility for the alcohol they consume.
This being said, Occidental must finally consider a different alcohol policy, and the administration must partake in a conversation regarding alcohol and a potential policy, not a talking-at but a discussion like the one ResEd holds regarding housing. The college lectures about safe drinking but enforces an abstinence-only policy when it comes to all forms of illicit alcohol consumption, giving students no way to drink without breaking the rules. It is the equivalent of giving somebody an instruction manual to a machine they aren’t allowed to use.
Sure there are modules like “Think About It” and Orientation Week’s “Friends Just Ask” information and discussion night, but these are just manuals for first-years and first-time drinkers. In no way are first-years remembering the poor decisions made by characters from “Think About It” when they are pounding shots and chugging beers, tucked into a crowded room with fellow underage and inexperienced drinkers in Stewie or Braun.
In order to practice safe-drinking, first-year students should not be forced behind closed doors or banished to off-campus parties where they may not feel comfortable. Instead of forbidding first-years from bringing alcohol into their dorms, campus policy should allow students to experiment with drinking in safe, supervised settings. Open door and red cup policies utilized at other schools serve as possible alternatives.
Occidental must seriously reconsider what explicit policies – whether they adhere to federal drinking regulations or not – should be carried out in order to maximize the safety of its students. Questions must be answered, such as: should red cups be held in the Quad on a Friday night? Should Residential Advisors facilitate a dance pre-game? Should every Residence Hall include both first-years and upperclassmen, allowing alcohol inside each hall and upperclassmen to informally appease first-year curiosity surrounding the spirits?
Occidental’s recent step proves that these questions have not been addressed. By encouraging students to find alternative social events and take advantage of what else Occidental nightlife has to offer, the school misses the crucial reality that students struggle to learn to drink responsibly when they are encouraged to approach alcohol in contradicting fashions.
This editorial represents the collective opinion of the Occidental Weekly Editorial Board. Each week, the Editorial Board will publish its viewpoint on a matter relevant to the Occidental community.
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