IF YOU perused the News section of The Cavalier Daily last Friday,you might have come across an interesting article about drinking at the University ("Report finds social norms campaigns ineffective," Oct. 6). Shockingly -- or maybe not -- a Penn State University study found that "social norms campaigns are ineffective in influencing college students' drinking behavior," according to the article. The reason for this is most likely that the social "norms" many of these campaigns support are in fact out of touch with reality and are thus ineffective.
Let's face it: College students who want to drink will find ways to do so regardless of the advice and warnings received from their enlightened elders. In fact, such warnings may be more likely to spur them on to drinking excessively. Prof. Ruth Engs of Indiana University, for example, writes in a study about underage drinking that it "is seen as an enticing 'forbidden fruit,' ... a symbol of 'adulthood.'" Thus, left to their own devices or in a more controlled setting, underage youth would probably drink less and be more responsible. Pushing students not to drink and threatening them with the consequences of drinking, however, will only make them more likely to rebel.
After all, prompting students to drink responsibly is somewhat irrelevant when underage drinking by definition must be done covertly and is an act of rebellion. In this situation drinking to excess is much more likely and because it is often done in the company of other underage and inexperienced drinkers is also far more dangerous. Instead of simply promoting safe drinking practices, the money and effort used to forward these studies could be much more aptly applied to promoting safe drinking environments. Safer environments will, in turn, support safer drinking habits.
Creating safer drinking environments, ones in which students do not see drinking as a method of proving themselves or an act of rebellion will be difficult, but is by no means impossible. One critical way of doing this would be to repeal the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 or at least to revisit what it truly says.
According to the Maryland Underage Drinking Prevention Coalition, the 1984 Act "required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21" or receive reduced federal highway funds. However, this is not the whole story. As the article notes, the act "does not prohibit persons under 21 (also called youth or minors) from drinking," it just bans purchase or public consumption. Later restrictions on these were added by state legislatures and in fact vary widely across states.
Setting aside the blackmailing of state governments by threatening to reduce their funding, let's take a look at the effectiveness of the law. To do this is quite easy, as you can simply look around any college campus or review the literature surrounding the "social norms campaigns" to see that underage drinking continues unchecked. What's more, as the study itself shows, current efforts to curb underage drinking or to make it safer are not working.
What then is the solution? Engs suggests that the minimum drinking age be changed to 18 or 19, so that "young adults (be) allowed to drink in controlled environments." In these environments "responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs" and as a result safer drinking habits would become the real norm.
Another possible solution would be to take a lesson from other restricted activities, age-based or otherwise. Take driving, for instance. In order to get a driver's license you must take an educational course and pass a test. Similar courses and tests apply to hunting and other licenses -- all deemed dangerous activities, but like drinking wholly legal if done properly. Now, creating a test or licensing system for drinking may be a little far-fetched, but requiring alcohol education courses before turning 18 is not.
Finally, notice should be taken of what students are currently doing to help themselves.Study director Ann Major is quoted in Friday's article saying that "sorority and fraternity members have yet to demonstrate true concern for their peers' safety when drinking" and points to these groups as one of the prime examples of the system gone awry. Major has clearly never been to a Greek event, however, as her comments are simply ludicrous.
Looking around Grounds, fraternity and sorority events are perhaps the safest place for drinking to occur -- after all, they have a vested interest in the safety of their members and guests. As a fraternity president myself, I think it is indisputable that the Greek community takes great precautions to establish a safer drinking environment, as after all, where else can you find a large group of people working shifts at the door, at the bar and around the event's location to ensure all runs smoothly and everyone is okay? Compare this, for example, to a couple people sitting around an apartment or dorm room.
Drinking will occur at the University and elsewhere regardless of how many studies and threatening programs are thrown at students because at its heart, the environment students live in does not allow for safe drinking but instead promotes recklessness. Rather than try to change social norms about drinking, one must look at the context in which that drinking occurs. In this light it becomes clear that only by creating an environment where drinking can occur legally and in the presence of responsible role models can safer drinking practices become reality.
Allan Cruickshanks is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at acruickshanks@cavalierdaily.com.
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