LETTERS: Setting the record straight

To the Editor: I found the explanation accompanying the Rules Governing Alcohol Use at Registered Undergraduate Social Events equally baffling. Apparently these are to "encourage students to make responsible decisions about the use of alcohol." Their violation consequences, however, include "disciplinary sanctions and/or referral for prosecution," thus giving an entirely new slant to the term "encouragement." Now, to me, a "responsible decision about the use of alcohol" would look something like the following: "Experience has taught me that a sixth pint will make me act, talk and dribble like a three-year-old -- this is not how I wish to be perceived by my peers, I will therefore practice moderation," rather than "I will stop drinking now because otherwise the University authorities/the State of Pennsylvania/mom and dad will get really angry." I can't help thinking that the real issue is not this so-called alcohol problem, but rather how Penn wishes to be perceived by parents of prospective students -- not an issue, incidentally, at British universities, where both education and beer flow freely. A strict alcohol policy and a widely publicized coverage thereof is surely viewed favorably by parents who live too far away to keep a watchful eye on their beloved offspring. But undergraduates are not children. And the DP would do everyone a favor by not being a tattle-tale when someone's had a few too many. Miriam Eckert Postdoctoral Fellow Institute for Research in Cognitive Science