LETTERS: Give us the benefit of the doubt

To the Editor: Yep, there, I said it, and I doubt that anything this or any administration does is going to change this. For a great many students, drinking is simply an enjoyable activity. There is one way to reduce alcohol-related incidents on campus: personal responsibility. There is no need to punish the vast majority of students who drink responsibly for the acts of a few excessive drinkers by adding more Friday classes or further curtailing parties where alcohol is served. Although I am not a member of a fraternity, I view with disdain the huge amount of blame that is laid upon the Greek system for over-drinking that sometimes occurs at their houses. If AEPi chooses to host a social event, it should not be blamed because one of its guests was unable to deal responsibly with the alcohol present. Furthermore, I find the suggestion of further "education" a little odd. It's highly doubtful that a student with the intellectual capabilities necessary to be accepted to this University is unaware that drinking large amounts of alcohol tends to lead to sickness. For everyone concerned about the problem of drinking on campus, please, give us the benefit of the doubt. College students, by and large, are capable of handling alcohol with maturity. Nick Stukas Wharton '01 Not a model Christian To the Editor: I felt the need to write about Brother Steven (the "spirited" preacher on the Green) after seeing his antics firsthand. As a Christian, I am seriously perplexed by how this guy has perverted the message of the Gospel into slanderous condemnation of passersby. Though I wouldn't mind sitting down and talking with him, I think he's quite incorrigible, just by seeing the way he treats people who do try to reason with him, a "morally perfect" man as he puts it. Anybody familiar with Judeo-Christian ideals will concede that not only does he take God's name in vain, but he judges others ruthlessly by calling them "whores" and "drunkards." Please don't take this man's actions as exemplary of biblical Christianity. Jesus came to save the world, not to condemn it (John 3:16-17). He hung out with the dregs of society, forgiving them and restoring them, and He came to everybody with compassion and love (after all, you don't die for people if you don't at least like them). I don't profess to know Brother Steven's motives, but I ask that people take a challenge from him: If we do consider ourselves to be "good" Christians, Jews or otherwise, would people really know it by the way we act? Or are we angry because (although he has no right to judge us), he may actually be hitting some sore spots with his accusations? Marc Aneed College '99