LETTER: Leaving Normal

You bet students are worried over action by Pennsylvania Liquor Control Enforcement! I am responding to the article "Students worry over LCE action" (DP 9/16/92). The news that the Liquor Control Enforcement branch of the state police is starting to crack down on underage drinking at fraternity parties is not only scary, but it is totally ludicrous! The LCE is completely out of line to be infringing on the intermural social activities at Penn. The LCE's harsh action can have drastic effects on students' futures. The member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity who was arrested and accused of selling liquor without a license last spring now has a criminal record which will probably cost him many career positions in future endeavors. Keep in mind he was arrested for "underage drinking and selling alcohol," a phenomenon which occurs on most, if not all, college campuses as it is a foundation of the social life. College administrators, professors and parents all know it occurs and, whether they admit it or not, they accept it as a norm of college life. In fact, I'm sure the administrators, professors and parents remember their social experiences when they were in college and theirs is probably quite similar to the experiences of college students today, including underage drinking. I would even venture to say that the LCE board members have had social experiences similar to today's students and have themselves been underage drinkers at some point in time. And yet these very same people are out to bust Penn students and damage their reputations and futures for merely socializing as the rest of the nation's students do? I suggest the LCE board reconsider where and whom they choose to crack down upon. Underage drinking on college campuses is not a crime nor an exception -- it's the rule. RACHEL MARROW College '94

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