We encourage students to pace themselves when drinking and to familiarize themselves with how their bodies react to alcohol: everyone pities those who can’t stop when it’s clear that they’ve had enough Jungle Juice. Everyone also hates an angry drunk. So, if you’re the person who punched a bus driver at the end of this semester’s first Senior Cocktails event, your violent and irresponsible behavior is condemnable, not only because the rest of the class of ’08 has had to take responsibility for such an action.
However, by taking the cocktails out of Senior Cocktails, the University is doing more than infantilizing a group of adults who can legally purchase their own alcohol. While Director of Student Activities & Leadership Development Tim Shiner has proposed alternative events that do not revolve around alcohol consumption, what distinguishes such events from activities that all undergraduates may partake in? Students have very few events that are truly open-bar to look forward to in life, aside from the occasional wedding. Let’s face it: drinking is what distinguishes Senior Cocktails from a middle school dance. It is a major reason why the majority of seniors enjoy this tradition, year after year.
Allow seniors the privilege of an event that indeed revolves around alcohol. The majority are 21 and can legally buy their own drinks, enlist in the military, or get married and have children. Why not allow the senior class to momentarily forget post-graduation worries, gather in the Freeman hockey rink or Fayerweather Hall with a surplus of kegs, and drink like the adults that they are?
Obviously, it is irresponsible and foolish to think that one must drink to have a good time. Every year there are students who choose not to attend Senior Cocktails because they are uncomfortable with such an environment. However, replace Senior Cocktails with Senior Karaoke and Poolhall day, and the University can expect a guaranteed lower turnout. Shouldn’t senior events bring the senior community together in an exclusively senior-class experience, rather than giving them dance balls that frosh could receive during Orientation Week?
With students already paying $190 for Senior Passes, they should take ownership of a Wesleyan tradition that is intended to celebrate the class and kindle a sense of community. Students should email senior class officers with suggestions for improving senior events, such as holding them in venues that can truly accommodate the class. With better venues that minimize crowded lines, there is less chance that students will partake in rude and aggressive behavior out of frustration
Until then, we encourage WesWell and ResLife to continue efforts in educating students about what it means to drink responsibly. Such a measure is far more effective than strident or oppressive bans against alcohol consumption. Also, for the angry drunks out there (and the sloppy drunks who can’t clean up after themselves by picking up bottles from a school bus): next time learn how to handle your liquor before you ruin the fun for everyone else.
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