Guest opinion: Changing culture

As student representatives of the Alcohol Response Team, which met during this fall semester, we find it our responsibility to respond to the staff editorial published in last Wednesday's Daily Pennsylvanian in order to provide a more accurate representation of the motivations and decisions of the group and how those decisions relate to the undergraduate community at large.

The focus of the Alcohol Response Team was to provide a forum for candid discussion as to how to decrease high-risk drinking on Penn's campus. After much deliberation, it was found that the problems we face as a community today are not a reflection of problems with the Drug & Alcohol Policy itself. Rather, the binge drinking culture which exists on Penn's campus is just that, a culture, and one that no University policy is going to change.

Students enter Penn expecting to be treated as adults and yet some drink to the point where they must be carried home like children. It is the responsibility of student groups, the leaders of these groups and the undergraduate community as a whole to effect changes in high-risk drinking behavior.

Penn's college house system allows for only sixty percent of students to live on-campus. Such a large percentage of undergraduates living off-campus in community-based living situations provides an environment conducive to a social atmosphere. ART is in no way denying the significance of off-campus, unregistered parties. But what can the University do to police these parties?

And, more importantly, do we as a community wish to be policed? The amnesty clause contained in the Drug & Alcohol Policy puts the safety of the individual first, to ensure that there is no hesitation in bringing a person in physical danger to the hospital.

The increased frequency of registered alcoholic events on-campus is intended to allow safe and moderate consumption of alcohol in a positive environment. The Daily Pennsylvanian's reference to kegs and hard alcohol is irrelevant, as virtually every national fraternity's charter prohibits their chapters from possessing either.

The Risk Reduction Awards given to fraternities who register parties have been moderately successful in increasing party registration. However, the financial incentive being offered is insufficient, and the expense of a registered party remains far beyond that of an unregistered one. While University policy states that funding cannot be provided to support events at which underage students are consuming alcohol, alternatives to the current Risk Reduction policy need to be examined.

As it was the decision of the Alcohol Response Team that significant changes to the Drug & Alcohol Policy are not necessary, we looked to more practical measures. If the University is willing to place the majority of the responsibility on us as students, it is our responsibility to educate the members of our community. To this end, the Alcohol Response Team's recommendation to increase resource allocation to groups such as the Drug & Alcohol Resource Team and Team Sober is a substantial innovation on the part of University administrators.

With increased manpower and financial resources, these student groups will have the opportunity to better educate the undergraduate community on the risks and symptoms of abusive alcohol use.

Ultimately, the only way that the drinking culture is going to change on Penn's campus is if we, as a student body, effect the change from within. If student body leaders are better educated and trained in dealing with high-risk drinking, these leaders can be instrumental in disseminating this education to their constituencies.

To this end, we charge student groups across campus, including the college houses, SAC, the Greek community and cultural and religious organizations, to take an active role in this process and to be at the forefront of this movement. Train your leaders to identify students who may have a drinking problem. Make sure they know what to do in case of an emergency. Incorporate an alcohol policy into your bylaws, whereby student groups cannot receive funding or recognition before learning about the dangers of high-risk drinking.

Changing an alcohol culture that is so ingrained in our lives is not easy. It will take time, and it will be difficult to gauge success. As students, however, we accept this challenge and are confident that we can make a difference.

Sean Levy is a senior in the College and president of the InterFraternity Council. Jason Levine is a senior in the College and chairman of the Undergraduate Assembly. Nicki Pritz is a senior in the College and president of the Drug & Alcohol Resource Team.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.