LETTERS: Putting an end to binge drinking

To the Editor: University President Judith Rodin challenged us all ("Binge drinking and violence must stop," DP, 10/16/97) to engage in just such a process last semester. Administrators posted a World Wide Web site to solicit ideas from various segments of the University. And they facilitated assorted discussions with student leaders, faculty, staff and parents. As a community, we were encouraged to make recommendations that a) would build on the strengths of current programming efforts, b) would be based on research about effective strategies in related areas and c) would be realistic given economic and legal constraints. A few of the solutions suggested on the Web site echoed Karen Pasternack's column ("In support of moderation," DP, 1/15/98) -- lower the drinking age (or ignore the laws with regard to underage drinking). A realistic (or even desirable) solution? I have to say, I think not. Rodin cannot ignore the law either in written policies or in her capacity to enforce it. The legal and economic consequences would be too great. Pasternack identifies Haverford College as a model for how to implement such an approach. A review of Haverford's alcohol policy, however, reveals that it does attempt to abide by the law with regard to underage drinking. It states, "The Alcohol Policy, in conjunction with planned educational activites and support services, is designed to achieve the following goals: To remind students of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Social Honor Codes, both of which should govern their behavior with respect to alcohol?." I would agree, however, that to a certain extent efforts to stop underage drinking are a waste of time and money. Why? Because underage drinking is not the problem. A look at the ages of the students who died last semester and the students here at Penn who were involved in the most serious of incidents reveals that "of age" students were as likely to die, almost die, assult someone or be assulted as "underage" students. The problem that warrants our concern and creative solutions to correct is the excessive amount of alcohol consumed that has come to be considered "normal" or "acceptable." Last semester, a DP reporter asked me to define the number of drinks that would be considered problematic. My reply was that most students' judgement will begin to be impaired after five drinks. Seven or more and you are in the danger zone. When I ask students what a "normal" minimum number of drinks consumed is, the most common response is seven to eight. The crazy phenomenon that researchers are discovering is that even non-drinkers and moderate drinkers indicate that seven to eight drinks is the minimum norm. And the even crazier aspect of this phenomenon is that the majority of students don't drink this much, but they think that everybody else does. Solutions lie in developing strategies that a) include education about what most students know are the best ways to have a good time without compromising health or safety issues -- non-use or moderation and b) allow the comunity to confront those who appear unable to limit their usage and offer them support services that could help them make the necessary changes to make healthier decisions. Join us this semester in this process. Contact the Office of Health Education for details about how. Kate Ward-Gaus Drug and Alcohol Resource Team Supporting a stadium To the editor: Before University officials blithely dismissed the proposed baseball stadium on the Schukyll banks, ("Penn opposes Phillies stadium near campus," DP, 1/16/98), they should have hopped on a bus to Baltimore. There they would observe what Camden Yards has done to restore Baltimore's dilapidated city center. Camden Yards is a prototype of how stadiums should be built. Simply put: a well-designed grass baseball field has revitalized downtown Baltimore. Penn officials' veiled excuses such as parking and security are glaringly bogus. The University's parking lots are barren during the evenings and summer months when baseball is played. Further, most of us would consider more people and police officers on West Philadelphia streets a boon to the neighborhood. Oddly, and unconvincingly, Penn officials beg to differ. There are, of course, some detractions with a major proposal of this kind. Penn would not get to seize land University officials probably have designs on. But the benefit of a stadium are many and should not be overlooked. Done with Penn's input, a stadium could benefit the University handsomely. Who knows, were the stadium built, people might even show up for "Steppin' Out Nite." James Phimister Chemical Engineering graduate student Book Store alternatives To the Editor: Although I agree with Michael Brus' position in his column, ("Prevent bookstore monopoly," DP, 1/15/98), he made a misstatement when he said, "?there are only two independent bookstores in University City." There was no mention of Campus Text, which for the past four years has provoded a valuable service to Penn students by providing textbooks at discounted paces. Although we invested thousands of dollars in legal fees to protect our right to sell textbooks and the students' right to purchase them from us, we have not passed these costs on to students. Although our location next semester and thereafter is yet to be determined, we are committed to insuring that students at Penn have an alternative source for their textbooks. Despite efforts by some to prevent us from offering this valuable service to the Penn community, we have remained in business and intend to do so in future semesters. One day last week we were contacted by no less than four professors who were upset that the books they had ordered for their classes were not ordered or available in the Book Store. We immediately contacted the publishers, ordered the textbooks and had them shipped to us overnight (at our expense) to insure that their students would have the books as soon as possible. This is just one illustration of the commitment of Campus Text (and I am sure of the other independent bookstores) to the students and faculty. It serves to illustrate why Penn needs an alternative to the Book Store. The University community should not and cannot tolerate a monopoly. Michael Saewitz Campus Text Penn Press doing fine To the Editor: The headline and caption copy accompanying Edward Sherwin's fine story on the University of Pennsylvania Press stated that "Penn Press confronts falling profits" and that the press has "seen profits shrink in recent years." Both of these statements are not correct; the press is having the best financial year in its history. The spirit of Director Eric Halpern's interview was not what to do to regain lost market share or past profit, as implied by the headlines, but how to continue to raise the solvency level of a press that he is already guiding toward greater achievement and notoriety. Bruce H. Franklin Publicity Manager