STAFF EDITORIAL: New policy starts off right

Penn's first weekend under the new alcohol policy was quiet - which should not be taken to mean too much. We are pleased to report that both ZBT's party and a Saturday night mixer at DKE -- the only two registered parties this weekend and the first of the fall semester -- concluded without incident. Students drank alcohol and enjoyed themselves and that is as it should be. But because this was a beginning, it is inevitable that people will look to the weekend's events -- or lack thereof -- as a sign of things to come. Therefore, a word of caution seems in order: if this new policy succeeds in fomenting real change in campus attitudes toward abusive drinking, it will happen over the long-term. And it will happen despite parties where some people do consume dangerous amounts of alcohol. With that said, there are some things that can be taken from this weekend, chiefly in response to various concerns about the new policy. First, the spectre of students fleeing to off-campus venues rather than partying under the new regulations seems largely unrealized. While it is far too early to tell what the long-term impact of the policy will be on student's party choices, neither of the weekend's parties seemed unduly affected by the lack of hard alcohol or the new monitoring system. Students also seemed willing and able to bring their own beer, and both parties adhered to the 1 a.m. cut-off on serving alcohol without difficulty. Of course, none of that means that the next registered party will not experience difficulties on any or all of those counts. But when incidents do occur, we hope they are taken as no more indicative of things to come than this weekend's successes. The true test of the new policy will come over a matter of years. And the main challenge facing both students and administrators will be -- by tempering successes and failures alike -- to chart a middle ground balancing responsibility with regulation.