Andy Sampson-
There are corollaries to the view that providing shuttle service to the bars encourages binge drinking. One used by the Christian right is that providing condoms at colleges and schools encourages sex.
Both claims are ridiculous and have flawed notions of cause and effect.
Providing free shuttle service is a preventative measure for an existing problem—and represents a pragmatic and mature response to the issue. An “education” program about safe-drinking habits is delusional and a waste of resources…akin to abstinence education. Your moralization of alcohol consumption is naïve and completely inappropriate for protecting student’s safety—the central reason for providing shuttle service. If you have ever been to the bars you would know that many students drink regardless of their designation as a driver. I agree that this is a problem, however “teaching them a lesson” by denying them shuttle service is dangerous and negligent. Also, who the hell are you to moralize alcohol consumption in any way when you are not of age, presumably have not been to the bar (legally), and therefore have no capacity to observe what actually goes on at the bar? Shouldn’t educated opinions come from observation (at the bars), and not from inarticulated polemics? Such inquiry is no better than opinions drawn under the guise of “faith” by the political right today.
We should applaud Jesse and Monica for their WSA initiatives on issues that actually matter to students, and not attack them with archaic impractical, dangerous modes of thinking.
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