Comments on Baptists Today Blogs: College presidents' project deserves failing grade...

As a person who works in Student Life for a dry un...

2008-08-25T20:33:00.000-04:00

As a person who works in Student Life for a dry university, I deal with the alcohol issues almost daily. First, I think that lowering the drinking age is purely stupid. If a student is going to drink, they are going to drink.

In working with international students, I have to help them to realize that the culture here is different than in their home country. In some places, it is acceptable to drink at a much younger age. I remind my students that there is a legal drinking age here, and when they are here they are expected to follow the rules, just as I would be expected to follow the rules in their countries.

My biggest "beef" with colleges and universities is their lack of alcohol education. At the particular place I work, there are things such as alcohol awareness week. Instead of educating students about the negatives of drinking, the students are expected to state they will not drink. I believe that alcohol awareness week would be much more effective if students were taught about the negatives of alcohol and committed to things such as no under age drinking, no drinking and driving, etc. When I suggested this, I was laughed at and told that we don't let our students drink.

The truth is: students are drinking. So why not educate them about it? The drinking age should not be lowered, and the administrations at universities should be smart enough to realize that students are drinking.

I'm tempted to give my full-blown "alcohol lecture...

2008-08-25T13:47:00.000-04:00

I'm tempted to give my full-blown "alcohol lecture." But I'll forbear. But here are a few of the salient points:

1. etoh = ethyl alcohol,a poison; it is toxic. It can be used as a motor fuel; works well in race cars.

2. Its being toxic, we refer to a person under its influence as inTOXICated. That means "poisoned."

3. Its first effects show up in the judgment center of the brain, where important decisions are made. A little later it affects motor skills.

4. It is a mood-altering chemical. But the moods it produces are not predictable.

5. It is an addictive chemical. It usually takes a few years, but the potential is there from the first drink.

My question to students, parents, academic administrators, and the general public is this: When dealing with a poison that attacts your judgment and motor skills, that can alter your mood, that can lead to life-long addiction, not even to mention loss of self-respect, employment, spouse, money, and possessions, that can enable behaviors that can result in serious injury and death for others, not to speak of incarceration, injury, and death to self, what is the proper age to introduce that substance to our children and give them permission to use it for recreation and entertainment?

Brother Deaux

I don't get it. Perfectly legal aged students bin...

2008-08-25T13:03:00.000-04:00

I don't get it. Perfectly legal aged students binge drink...what effect will lowering the drinking age have on combating that? It's no wonder our society is constantly looking for someone to blame for everything. Some of the nation's top college's administrators are trying to shift blame for their "lack of institutional control" (to use an NCAA term familiar to football fans in the South). Ridiculous isn't even the word for that.

On a side note, I haven't seen or heard any reaction from faculty or student life people on this movement. Has anyone here? I'd be interested to know what the people who actually *talk* to students think about it.

Tony, your post makes a lot of sense to me and als...

2008-08-25T09:05:00.000-04:00

Tony, your post makes a lot of sense to me and also speaks into my personal perspective on this issue. Thanks for continuing to possess this conviction and to share it intelligently and with great passion. George