In the best interest of safety

There is no magic-bullet solution to the problem of excessive drinking on campus. We as a community have witnessed the tragic consequences of alcohol abuse, and no one wants people to be in harm's way when attending a party at Penn.

To this end, changes in the University's alcohol policy are necessary to ensure that people can have a good time and stay safe as well.

But the policy modifications proposed by Penn's Alcohol Response Team -- a group of administrators, faculty and student representatives charged with formulating the first changes to the alcohol policy in more than five years -- fail to address the heart of the issue.

The committee has suggested further training for party hosts to identify "overly intoxicated guests" and "high-risk drinking," increasing the number of host monitors at parties and restricting parties to public areas.

These recommendations make sense, but whether or not they will bring about meaningful change is highly suspect.

Another stipulation in the new policy would require groups to plan events that create "an environment in which alcohol use is secondary to the event itself."

While this sounds like a good idea, translating it into reality may be easier said than done.

Unsafe alcohol use is not something that can be legislated away, and it certainly will not change overnight. A solution will only happen if students and organizations take responsibility for themselves and their actions.

That may be the underlying message ART wishes to send with its policy revisions for registered parties. But these small changes are missing the point.

University administrators will not be able to make substantial progress on this issue until they are willing to face the reality that unregistered off-campus parties -- where there are no safeguards at all in place -- occur with greater frequency than registered parties. Hiding behind the assumption that registered parties are the only place students go to spend their Friday nights is counterproductive.

If safety is the ultimate goal, then the objective should be to make registered parties the norm rather than the exception. This cannot happen until the University clears away some of the roadblocks that make registered parties unattractive.

The myriad of restrictions placed on registered parties -- bouncers, bartenders and a ban on kegs, for example -- greatly increases the costs for party hosts. Additionally, hard-alcohol rules and increased scrutiny by monitors make registered parties much less attractive than parties off campus.

Registered parties can be safe and accessible at the same time. Students must be the driving force behind any meaningful change that takes place. The University must be willing to make registered parties more attractive to students.

Join the discussion

Let us know what you think of the University's proposal or your suggestions for addressing drinking at Penn: send letters to letters@dailypennsylvanian.com

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