Author: Dean DeChiaro
As The Occidental Weekly’s News Editor, I am responsible for sifting through the plethora of each week’s Campus Safety reports and choosing which ones should be printed. From what I’ve seen of this year’s reports, a new trend is growing: More Occidental students are driving drunk. Too many times this year, students have gotten in accidents or been pulled over for drunk driving. Luckily enough, no one has been seriously injured or killed yet, but there is no denying that the situation is becoming more and more dangerous.
Conventional wisdom dictates that we should blame the problem on the student body, which is no doubt full of young men and women who drink, party and drive. Conventional wisdom would also have us believe that the increase in drunk driving this year is solely dependent on the student and how much he or she drinks. However, I think blame should additionally be placed elsewhere: on the administration’s year-long efforts to curb partying in the area directly surrounding the college.
The administration’s efforts to cut down off-campus partying have been well-publicized and widely lamented by most of the student body. On Oct. 8, ASOC Senate officials met with the administration to discuss growing tensions with Oxy neighbors, and a day later, Dean Avery informed the student body by e-mail that Campus Safety escorts to off-campus houses would be canceled during weekend evenings.
Since then, the administration has succeeded in all but extinguishing large-scale weekend social gatherings directly around campus, but students have not stopped partying. They’ve simply moved farther away from campus, and herein lies the groundwork of a very grave situation.In years past, parties that took place (unimpeded) at locations close to campus resulted only in drunk students stumbling back to Oxy on foot. The worst injuries they could possibly have received were skinned knees or twisted ankles. However, the administration’s efforts have forced these students to party at houses past Eagle Rock High School, across Eagle Rock Boulevard or blocks and blocks down York – locations that are definitely not within walking distance.
This forced exodus to parties farther away from campus has become a dangerous gamble. Imagine a typical Friday night: A party is being held at a house far from campus, and a dorm full of students pre-gaming prior to leaving for the event. Two have cars, and while one student has had seven shots, the other has only had four. The latter student decides he can drive. Nine times out of 10, the student might make it to and from the party just fine. But what if he didn’t? What if the student got in an accident – maybe even a fatal one?
If a tragedy like that occurred, who would we blame? The student, for making a poor decision? Partially. But shouldn’t some blame also be placed on the administration that decided that maintaining a quiet and tame image around campus was more important than keeping students safe?
The administration has forced students to move their partying a dangerous distance from campus. Clearly, they need to reevaluate their priorities.
Dean Dechiaro is a sophomore history major. He can be reached at dechiaro@oxy.edu.
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