Students don't need alcohol to have fun
To the Editor:
With regard to last Friday's article "Building school spirit one brewski at a time" (Jan. 25, 2008), the column failed to mention that the state of Pennsylvania must grant a liquor license to any venue that intends to sell alcohol.
Due to extensive concerns about the national high-risk culture of college drinking, the PA Liquor Control Board is not likely to grant a license to sell alcohol on our campus in the near future.
Therefore, alcohol sales in our sports arenas are currently impossible (the author mentioned Columbia in the article, but NY has an entirely different set of state laws).
As for the University regularly providing free alcohol at events, this would likely present a financial cost and legal liability that would be untenable for any college.
More importantly, I encourage all students, faculty and staff to think critically about the role of alcohol in college culture.
While alcohol has a place in America, consider the perspective that it doesn't have to be the default mechanism through which college students socialize or engage in school spirit. While alcohol can be enjoyable in social situations, explore what it means to rely on alcohol as a primary social lubricant.
In the end, why shouldn't we be able to support our Quaker athletes for the purity of sport rather than as just another excuse to drink?
Stephanie Ives
The author is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Penn's Division of University Life
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