EDITORIAL: Going beyond punishment

It's important to hold members responsible for serving alcohol to underage students, especially considering that some of them -- like the girl who suffered alcohol poisoning after an AEPi event -- have ended up in the hospital. Not punishing fraternities in such situations would be a bad precedent, in that the organizations are extremely liable to lawsuits, which are far worse consequences than going dry. But both students and the University should realize that such punishments aren't going to solve the problem of binge drinking -- a problem that has less to do with fraternities than it does with American culture. Fraternities going dry won't prevent students from drinking. It will force them to find alternative venues to hold parties, such as off-campus houses or downtown establishments. Such events, particularly when held west of campus, bring the added risk of walking down streets that are less well lit and less patrolled by security guards. Additionally, while fraternity parties are monitored by graduate students and officials, off-campus parties are rarely supervised. Beyond mere punitive actions, we urge both students and the University to take responsibility to diminish the problems of binge drinking, instead of waiting for the next intoxicated student to land in HUP. Students should at least take the time to think about the consequences of binge drinking and, whenever possible, to intervene when they think a friend may have had too much to drink. University administrators, for their part, must decide whether Penn will condemn drinking or merely contain it. If discouraging underage students from drinking is indeed a lost cause, the University should concentrate on ways to prevent the ramifications of excessive drinking. For one, the administration should require that all Penn students go through Training for Intervention Procedures, a program which trains people to intervene in situations where alcohol is being misused. At the very least, it should require TIPS training for all fraternity and sorority members. Banning alcohol and providing non-alcoholic alternatives simply hasn't -- and won't -- keep students out of HUP.