<p>I’m not opposed to alcohol itself. If people want to drink alcohol legally and responsibly, great, I’m not calling for prohibition. But at Whitman, students who can’t legally drink not only drink but worse, abuse alcohol. Drinking is practically a sport here on the weekends; my friends literally declare that they will get “black out” drunk this night or that. This isn’t just social drinking, this is substance abuse. I’ve had to take friends to the health center on campus because they’ve gotten severely drunk and hurt themselves or gotten extremely sick. I’m not against alcohol–I’m against minors abusing it irresponsibly.</p>
<p>I have multiple examples to back up the claims I made in my last post, and I’m not exaggerating. I actually wish I could be.</p>
<p>As to your question about Whitman’s isolation: I definitely think that Whitman’s small size and isolation have turned drinking into an activity instead of a social aide. To be fair to Whitman, the school puts on many activities, dances, speeches, musical performances, etc. over the weekends, but they’re all over by 11PM, just when the parties begin. Combine this with the fact that many of Walla Walla’s businesses close early, there is little to do off campus on weekend nights (aside from bowling, watching movies at the expensive theater, or going to Walmart). And party-going students don’t want to do homework Friday and Saturday night, although sometimes they do. So, what is there to do? Party and drink. On weekend nights, you could describe it as a “party pit”.</p>
<p>Another factor in this situation is that the college has a very lax alcohol policy; in the residence halls, we can have and consume alcohol as long as it’s in our rooms behind closed doors, not in public spaces. Now I think this is based on a good judgment by the college; they realize that if students are not allowed to drink on campus, they’ll go to drink off campus and potentially disturb and endanger the community (if they drive), so it’s safer to allow kids to stay on campus. But this also sends students the message, hey–it’s okay to drink (as long as it’s in private). That’s great, but it doesn’t keep students’ health in mind, especially when students are intoxicating themselves to the point of alcohol poisoning or nausea. It’s dangerous for those students, and it’s disgusting for students who don’t drink to find others’ vomit in bathrooms or lounges.</p>
<p>Now keep in mind that most large parties (and drinking) happen at the fraternities and other off-campus houses, so the residence halls are fairly calm weekend nights. There are still some parties and drinking in the residence halls (in students’ rooms), but the majority happens away. But then the drunk kids come back to the hall, and get sick or cause problems for others.</p>
<p>I guess I feel that overall the drinking is excessive, and I worry about the dangers it poses for students who abuse alcohol. I of course have found ways to avoid the parties or drinking, but it is still all around you, even if you don’t partake in it.</p>