Even though schools like UW-Madison have incorporated programs to curb binge drinking on campus, such a program is not needed at UW-Eau Claire.
Students are adults, and, as such, are responsible for their own actions. If those actions happen to be legal, such as consuming alcohol, they should be free to do them.
Policies, such as informing students’ parents about their drinking violations not only impede on their rights as adults, but also go against the university’s system of dealing directly with the students. Students receive their bills and grades through their e-mail, without parental interaction. Why should the university tell parents as soon as a student receives a ticket for a drinking violation?
So far, Eau Claire officials have only talked to tavern owners, and have not pursued a program like that in place at Madison.
Likewise, establishments that sell alcohol should not be forced to limit their specials and selection. Just as a grocery store is allowed to have specials on its wares, taverns have the same right.
The university has every right to inform its students on the dangers of binge drinking, but enforcing its own set of rules is not the university’s job. The rules for such a program could not be enforced effectively.
The university bans underage drinking in the residence halls, but the practice is widespread, nonetheless. There were also plans, such as a city keg ordinance that sought to limit the number of kegs sold at a time, that never got off the ground. A program like this have a similar result.
Perhaps an effort could be extended to regulate house parties, where students often drink as fast as they can for a small fee. But doing so would be nearly impossible. Even so, students still have a right to their actions as long as they are within the limits of the law.
By enacting such a program at Eau Claire, the university very likely would squander money, on a hopeless cause, that could be spent elsewhere. This potential waste of money is on top of the fact that a program like this would be an infringement of the rights of responsible adults.
