Editorial: Trinity Must Deal with Drinking

Once again, Trinity students have made the news. This time, though, it was not for racism or homophobia on campus but underage drinking ... off-campus. The arrests and ticketing of so many Trinity students should come as little surprise given this school's dependence on alcohol. Not counting the obvious (the high numbers of underage drinkers on campus), this latest incident raises three key problems.

First, all students, regardless of age, must be more responsible for their actions. There can be no defense for drinking underage or possessing a fake ID. Whether you support the minimum age or not, the fact of the matter is that both are still illegal, and any punishment given is deserved. If an underage student is going to drink, then he/she must face the consequences of that decision, whether it is an arrest, a fine, or humiliation. Students need to learn (often the hard way), that out in the "real world" actions have serious consequences and even something that seems minor can affect your reputation and your career.

Secondly, the administration must develop a better approach to alcohol. The school consistently maintains that it is against underage drinking but it has yet to show a commitment to that. At some point, the administration must dole out harsher penalties against offenders -- not doing so will only prolong the problem and teach students that they can break the law and get away with it.

Safety should always come first, and Trinity's policy of "medical assistance first" is a good one because it prevents the worst, but safety should not be used as the blanket response to underage drinking on campus.

Finally, it seems that there is an even greater problem within American society. The American attitude towards alcohol is so warped, so antiquated, that it is no surprise that it is constantly overused by people of all ages.

Those students at the Tap this past week were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time -- underage drinking happens every day on campus, and it is unfair to only penalize a select group of students. It is pointless to punish students for underage drinking: they have been raised in a society with confused alcohol values and spend every day under an administration that selectively chooses when to enforce.

As a community and as a country, we should be focusing more on alcohol education; we should be raising our children to respect and enjoy alcohol responsibly, instead of ignoring the problem and then slapping them on the wrist when they misuse it.

Regardless, the statistics have shown that alcohol continues to be a very prominent and destructive force on campus, and both the administration and the students need to figure out a better solution.