<p>Is it common for religious events to be held on campus? All of my Jewish friends go to the local Hillel (off campus) to celebrate. No Christian or otherwise services held on campus either. Although I think marriages are sometimes done in a chapel on campus.</p>
<p>romanigypsyeyes–I would say that your experience is out of the ordinary. I don’t know that we have visited a school that doesn’t have a Neuman Center, where Catholic Services are often held on non-Catholic campuses.</p>
<p>In addition to being legal for those under 21 to consume alcohol for religious purposes, many states also have laws on the books allowing those under 21 to drink legally at home in the presence of parents, and even a few states allow this at restaurants, etc. when parents are present.</p>
<p>As for allowing it on a “dry” campus, that president better allow it or face all kinds of legal challenges from several religions :D.</p>
<p>I just googled, 18 is the drinking age in almost every country except the US. Why did we raise the age about 30 years ago and think it’s helpful today?</p>
<p>lake42ks–because at age 18, most kids are still in high school, which is NOT the case in most other countries. It was raised to 19 to make access harder for high school aged kids and again to 21 for the same reason.</p>
<p>Other countries don’t have massive numbers of young people behind the wheels of cars. That’s why the raising of the drinking age was tied to the release of federal highway funds in this country.</p>
<p>Steve - I came from a place where I could access alcohol at age 1, but I only got drunk once, as an adult. I trust that if we were to lower drinking age here, we wouldn’t see too many more drunken college students than before.</p>
<p>lake42ks–no, probably not college students, but high school students, yes, we would. When I was in high school, drinking age was still 18. A lot more high school kids were killed in car accidents, had drinking issues, lots of parties, etc., more so then today. When an 18 year old can walk into a liquor store and buy whatever they want, it causes a lot of problems. Do I think that the drinking age should be 21, no, but I also don’t think 18 is the right age either. Our kids are allowed to have alcohol at home for holidays or sometimes just because. I certainly am not anti-alcohol in anyway, but I don’t think 18 year olds should be able to buy alcohol.</p>
<p>I don’t think the consequences for underage drinking fit the crime in our state. It should be an infraction, I think.</p>
<p>Also, I think we need to decide when people are adults, and call it the same age across the board. Old enough to vote, to go into the armed services, be held responsible as an adult for your own crimes, etc? You should be old enough to rent a car, to buy a beer, take a shot, whatever every adult is allowed to do. </p>
<p>Let’s decide what that age is and go with it.</p>
<p>We send a lot of mixed signals telling kids they are adults now, and they’re responsible for their own behavior and they have adult responsibilities and need to do things for themselves, and then we won’t let them buy a beer because they are “underage”. I think it’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>Putting aside the debate about the appropriate drinking age (I think it should be 18 but it ain’t going to change any time soon), I have a hard time saying that serving shots of whiskey or vodka in a college based religious center is OK and covered by the religious service exemption. Is this in any way “traditional”? If so, well, maybe there’s still some room for debate. A glass of wine - sure. Shots? In the specific case at hand, I wonder if there were previous discussions/warnings about this issue; presumably there were.</p>
<p>jrpar, it is traditional in some circles, but not “required” in any.</p>
<p>Given the calendar, I’m guessing a Simchat Torah celebration at Chabad. </p>
<p>Explanation: Jewish holiday celebrating the completion of the annual reading through the torah and marking the end of the fall holiday season. As far as I know there’s no tradition saying that you’re supposed to be drunk (as with Purim), though it’s very typical for hard liquor to be available. One big difference with Purim is that Simchat Torah is “chag” (with a gutteral ch sound), meaning that if one is observant one doesn’t work, drive, write, or any other activity prohibited on chag days. Purim isn’t chag. Jewish holidays, chag or not, start in the evening and end the next day. So if you get drunk on Simchat Torah and you’re observant you’re not driving home and you’re going to services at synagogue the next morning.</p>
<p>Chabad, unlike Hillel, isn’t campus based. There may be Chabad houses located right near college campuses, but Chabad’s purpose isn’t focused on college and university students, as is the case with Hillel.</p>
<p>ChicagoBear, it’s not correct that Catholics are the only ones with a closed (members only) communion. Lutheran churches affiliated with the more conservative synods also restrict communion to members, although some make some exceptions.</p>
<p>I googled a few key words and found the likely situation the prompted the op. It seems the Chabad involved is/was a campus affiliated organization and the Chabad House is listed in the campus directory.</p>
<p>"Given the calendar, I’m guessing a Simchat Torah celebration at Chabad. "</p>
<p>No, this has apparently been an ongoing issue, with vodka and whisky at Shabbat, not related to a once-a-year holiday.</p>
<p>“Chabad, unlike Hillel, isn’t campus based. There may be Chabad houses located right near college campuses, but Chabad’s purpose isn’t focused on college and university students, as is the case with Hillel.”</p>
<p>This one absolutely is campus-based and was formed specifically to serve the students at this college. The Chabad rabbi absolutely was an “official” religious leader along the Hillel rabbi and the leaders of the other faiths.</p>
<p>Campus-cased Chabad House not be unique to this school, I read that there has been a lot of growth in Chabad houses on college campuses in U.S. and other countries and they are listed on their site: </p>
<p>[Chabad</a> on Campus International Foundation: the Heart of Jewish Student life. Vibrant Judaism on Campus.](<a href=“http://www.chabad.edu/]Chabad”>http://www.chabad.edu/)</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the organization and only posted since SlitheyTove said Chabad is not campus based or focused on college students.</p>
<p>I would worry about the safety of those students, particularly new students whose alcoholic experience has been very limited. I am in my 50s and never had any alcoholic shots in my life. Not to mention that it seems illegal.</p>
<p>Suppose no one was getting drunk/wasted. I haven’t seen that said anywhere. If a university has no exceptions in its policy against underage drinking, does the amount or reason matter?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How much are they getting at Shabbat? Whenever I’ve been at a Shabbat lunch where there’s shots to go along with the herring, it’s been very much at the one shot, maybe two. Getting rip-roaringly drunk, no. Friday night dinners, the attraction is supposed to be getting a good home-cooked meal. </p>
<p>There are Chabad houses all over the world, most not near college campuses. Even those that are right next to campuses might have more non-student participants–but it sounds like this particular Chabad could be overwhelmingly a student population.</p>
<p>For many years now, the ability of Chabad houses to regularly offer alcohol in a sanctioned way (that is, at Friday night Shabat meals) has been an important part of their popularity on campus. Also, they push alcohol availability on Purim and Simchat Torah. </p>
<p>On the one hand, this is legitimately part of Chabad culture dating that predates Chabad’s campus involvements. On the other hand, I don’t feel that Chabad has much to be proud of in having capitalized on the way its authentic culture fits in so handily with campus bro-n-ho alcoholism. (And I’m sure they wouldn’t care to see it characterized that way.)</p>
<p>They have a lot to offer Jews on campus who are seeking a Jewish social scene, involvement, spirituality and knowledge. They should clean up their act.</p>
<p>If the rabbi was serving whiskey/vodka in the context of Shabbat celebration, that is not really in the context of “religious services.” That sounds like it’s in the context of the festive meal and singing that is part of celebrating Shabbat…AFTER services. I think the drinking that is sometimes part of the dancing during Simchat Torah falls in the same category–part of the celebration, not part of the ritual/service. So there’s no reason for any type of exception for religious ritual practice to be applied here.</p>
<p>At one time, I believe this sort of thing would have fallen under the “in loco parentis” exception that allows people to serve wine to their own children at dinner (and was stretched to cover the Master’s “tea” when I was in college), but I don’t think that view is held any longer.</p>
<p>(I’ll note that the “commandment” to drink to the point of intoxication on Purim is rabbinic and not scriptural so perhaps has room for interpretation to comply with applicable civil laws as well.)</p>
<p>Chabad is now increasing its presence on college campuses–students I know see it as an alternative to Hillel.</p>