Tue 22 Dec 2009
And you thought Williams had a drinking problem…
Posted by Ronit under Academia, General, Alcohol, Athletics, NCAA, Social Life at 10:11 am
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15 Responses to “And you thought Williams had a drinking problem…”
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hwc says:
I haven’t listened to the MP3 yet, but Penn State has consistently had the highest surveyed binge drinking rate of any school I’ve ever seen. Year after year.
hwc says:
The surveyed binge drinking rate has been so high at Penn, relative to the national average, that you wouldn’t even have to visit to know that it is an ugly campus environment.
rory says:
@hwc: Penn is not Penn State!
Aidan says:
It isn’t? Actually, I thought Lehigh was the drinking capital of the Keystone State.
frank uible says:
If Williams wants to solve its drinking “problem”, all it has to do is take whatever steps are needed to cause its students to strictly follow the MA liquor laws – in other words to shut down tight underage drinking. Of course such action would damage Williams at the Admission Office.
hwc says:
Actually, Penn’s binge drinking rate has been high too, but I am referring to Penn State in both posts #1 and #2. I thought the topic here was Penn State. The radio show MP3 is about Penn State.
Ronit says:
@frank uible: When the liquor laws are unreasonable, you are going to get unreasonable results.
frank uible says:
Jesse James and his fans thought them laws against robbing banks were unreasonable – nonetheless….
hwc says:
It’s hard to blame binge drinking and associated behaviors on the liquor laws.
Ronit says:
If you legalize drinking for anyone 18 and over, the vast majoirty of college drinking will then be allowed to take place in the open, at bars, pubs, and college parties with trained hosts/bartenders/bouncers/etc. Moving an activity from the underground out into the open makes it easier to regulate and control.
There is no solution for underage binge drinking under the current American drinking laws.
hwc says:
Unfortunately, raising the drinking age puts teenage drinking in the driver’s seat.
I don’t buy that the majority of college drinking would suddenly take place at controlled whine and cheese party functions.
Jay says:
Lower the drinking age, and severely increase the penalties for drunk driving.
Problem solved.
Ronit says:
I don’t really understand hwc’s last comment, but it is much easier to control driving than to control drinking. Especially in a place like Williamstown.
And we have 18 and 19 year olds who drink and drive now.
Also, I highly recommend listening to the show.
Jr. Mom says:
FWIW, they could come here for the uncontrolled whine and cheese. ;-)
Parent '12 says:
Ronit- Great title for this thread. It captures at least one of my thoughts when I heard this segment broadcast over the weekend.
I, too, highly recommend listening. And, suggest going to their site at http://www.thisamericanlife.org and listen to other broadcasts. On the serious side there have been at least 2 on the financial meltdown last year. On the lighter side are interesting stories with a twist. Go to “our favorites” on the site. You’re bound to find something.
Highlights from Penn St and alcohol: how the community benefits and doesn’t; response to student death because of one night of binge drinking; and research on what seems to work to decrease drinking on campus.
One example of a twist in the story: A resident, who has a motion detector for his property, for the obvious reason, also acknowledged that throwing furniture out a window is fun.