Drinking in moderation is something that many other countries manage so much better than the United States. The problem here is that the drinking age is 21, so when parents who don’t drink (or are against drinking) don’t demonstrate responsible practices to their kids while they’re still at home, the kids have no choice but to be influenced by the people they meet at college. I think if that we were to lower the drinking age (AT LEAST FOR WINE AND BEER) to 18, people would have a much better introduction to alcohol than they currently do. I know that for me personally, my parents never encouraged getting boozy, but they taught me how to responsibly drink from the age of 15, which is pretty normal in European countries. A glass of wine with dinner, a cocktail here and there. Banning alcohol on campus is a downright stupid idea in my opinion. Prohibition never works, as evidenced by history. All that you’re going to get is college kids being expelled even for drinking responsibly! And doing that is surely more likely to send them down a criminal path than having a few drinks at college.
As for the fraternity issue, I think that unless they demonstrate that they actually do something for the local community, they should be converted into regular housing that isn’t so exclusive. Universities should also hold rapists and sexual predators more accountable. Hell, fraternities should do a better job holding their “brothers” accountable for such things as well. Rape on college campuses is a serious problem and instead of teaching men not to be predatory a-holes women get taught they need to change the way they dress and act. Brock Turner should have been sentenced to death as far as I’m concerned, because people like him get away with way too much because women don’t bother reporting for fear of being called a “slut, tease, snitch, etc”. I also think all universities should be legally required to provide rape kits free of charge to all students.
I would love to see the drinking age for beer to go back to 18 or 19. Hard liquor can stay at 21. I truly believe that college kids would choose to drink beer legally rather than risk getting arrested for drinking hard liquor. When you drink beer you slowly start feeling the alcohol but when you take shots it is very dangerous. The pre-gaming going on on campuses is out of control. IMHO this is the problem. And just as a side note - I am one of those sorority advisors that tries to minimize the idiot behavior. The girls in the sorority that I advise absolutely hold their sister accountable for binge drinking and there are consequences. If a young lady did the same thing and was not affiliated with a sorority at the school I advise - she would likely have no consequences from the university - so being affiliated is a good thing in this situation.
When kids don’t know how to drink and jump straight to hard alcohol is definitely dangerous. Especially when you add in hyper-masculinity and the need to out-drink your buddies (maybe it happens with girls too but I’m a guy so I saw it mostly with guys).
The problems with underage drinking and “rape” culture aren’t limited to Greek residences. The behavior is just as rampant in college dorms throughout the country, many in small colleges without Greek houses and many that are located in dry counties.
This makes it sound like sober parents are the problem, for not teaching our kids how to drink! That’s kind of a sorry state of affairs; sobriety is a great thing to model to kids, in my opinion. It’s true that my kids are not seeing an example of “drinking in moderation,” and it bugs me that college is such a boozy environment that I’ve got to try to prepare them ahead of time just to attempt keep them safe, which I can’t really do since to some extent it’s just chance as to who asphyxiates and dies of alcohol poisoning.
That is a great idea! I agree, I think most kids would choose beer if it was the legal choice. And yes it’s a lot safer.
I would support having adult supervisors at all these parties. Why are all these young people just going wild with alcohol they obviously can’t handle and then causing all these problems? The majority of sexual assaults on campus are related to alcohol. Period. Blame whomever you want, but if people were handling their liquor, most of these events simply would not happen. So if these kids need to be babysat, or they need to drink beer only, or they need to be taught how to drink properly…ok! Whatever needs to happen, needs to happen. Because the problem is directly related to alcohol and what is happening now is not working.
I should clarify that it's not the parents that are the problem (unless they're extremely restrictive, then they are), I think the problem is that since the government prohibits drinking until 21, kids don't get to ease into alcohol. If kids could go out and get a few drinks at 18 or 19 at a bar or restaurant, they would learn a lot more about drinking than if they show up at college and start slamming plastic handle vodka (and mixing liquor) because all the older more experienced kids are doing it, and that's all that's accessible to them as underage kids.
I do think that parents have to be realistic and accept that there’s going to be booze at college, and should therefore teach their kids about not mixing liquor, about blood alcohol levels, and about how weight, gender, etc can impact a person’s ability to drink copious amounts of liquor.
About the sexual assaults being related to alcohol, I think we need to separate two things. Sexual assault as far as unwanted groping, attention, remarks, etc, are definitely related to alcohol, masculinity (particularly the confidence that comes with alcohol). But I don't think alcohol is what causes it. I think it's the toxic masculinity complex that a lot of people are taught by their fathers. That they have to "be a man" and go out and get what they want. I was fortunate enough to grow up with a single mother so I didn't get that, but my stepfather tried to enforce it when he came into the picture (and I moved out of my house once I was 18 to get away from that toxic attitude). You can see the failure of parenting so clearly with people like Brock Turner. His parents, and all the people supporting his family, don't see this as a problem with the American culture, but I think that's what it is.
I am starting to agree with all of this. And for what its worth, I have had lots of talks with my kids about the dangers of alcohol and drugs, and practical steps to stay safe. But it still scares me and I feel that the universities are somewhat responsible for the dangerous environment.
I get it that this is a problem and this is kind of the typical a-hole frat guy that these articles address. But my question is, without alcohol being involved how many of these guys actually go out and sexually assault and/or rape people? My guess is that the percentage is tiny. But when you add alcohol to the picture (and specifically the out-of-control dangerous type of drinking we are talking about) then you get a dramatic increase in sexual assaults. So while people are always responsible for their actions, I still blame alcohol as a major contributor, and I think universities need to work very hard to improve the situation.
" -At least 50% of college student sexual assaults are associated with alcohol use (7)
-Fraternity men have been identified as being more likely to perpetrate sexual assault or sexual aggression than nonfraternity men (8)"
Not a “tiny” percentage, but it is relevant. I just feel like the toxic masculinity complex and alcohol go hand and hand for this issue. If men weren’t taught to be overconfident jerks, they probably wouldn’t have these entitlement issues that come out once they’re drinking.
For example, both women and men drink a lot, but when it comes to perpetrators of sexual assault, most of them are men. That, to me, makes it clear that it’s not just the alcohol, but there’s a cultural difference when it comes to the way genders are being raised.
I mean: “99% of people who rape are men”
If there wasn’t such a huge cultural difference between the raising of men and women the number would be somewhat closer. Obviously I want to make it clear I’m not advocating for women to rape more people (hopefully that’s obvious), but I’m just trying to point out the differences in child-rearing.
Alcohol is not the root cause, since plenty of people are not prone to committing sexual assault whether they are sober or drunk, although it can reduce inhibitions against committing sexual assault among the perpetrators, and reduce ability to avoid or resist among the victims.
Totally agree. I just feel like eliminating the alcohol factor or at least addressing “problem drinking” though the steps suggested above would prevent a lot of jerky guys from taking it to the next level.
This is true. More sexual assaults happen when people (of both genders) are drinking. It’s never the fault of the victim, but we still want to embrace strategies that decrease the incidence of problems right? Healthier drinking habits would help everyone stay out of trouble.
True, and I think it’s easier to address the alcohol problem (at least initially) while working on a long-term solution for getting rid of this attitude
@EarlVanDorn At least one university agrees with you.
“When Interfraternity Council chapters renew their on-campus house leases with Northwestern, the University will require them to have a non-undergraduate house director who lives in the building, a University official confirmed…The previous rules, created in the mid-2000s, required chapters to have either a director or house manager, who could be an undergraduate student. But going forward, chapters must have a live-in house director who is not an undergraduate.”
@EllieMom I think most fraternities and sororities have resident housemothers, but their primary job is to plan meals and oversee food purchases and manage the kitchen. But our faculty advisor back when I was a member contributed to the betterment of the chapter. He ended up being initiated as a member at around age 50.
Of course, with drinking now illegal most professors don’t want to go anywhere near this position.
This fallacy gets repeated ad infinitum on CC and it simply isn’t true. Binge drinking is rampant among young people in the UK and the rest of Europe. There is less of a problem with drunk driving because you can’t drive until age 18 and since getting a permit is much more expensive in the UK and public transport is usually available, many don’t bother. Drinking is a huge problem throughout European countries and kids there tend to begin at much younger ages. Lowering the drinking age would not improve matters in the US.
@Joblue Certainly lowering the drinking age to 18 is not some magical formula that will solve every problem. Plenty of people got drunk when the age was 18, including me (not all the time, but…). But binge drinking increased after it was raised because it forced changes in the WAY people consumed alcohol without actually preventing alcohol consumption.
When I turned 18 I would go out to our small-town country club on weekends. There would be all ages there, from 18 to 80. I’d have a beer or two, but needless to say, I didn’t want to get sloppy drunk around these adults. Likewise, 18 used to be the age when people started being invited to cocktail parties. No young adult wants to make a fool of themselves in such a setting. These settings provide a chance for young people to drink in moderation amongst adults who hopefully are doing so as well (although not always).
Certainly excessive drinking exists in Europe, but the problem is quite different from the U.S. I suspect that in the U.S. there is far more binge and super-irresponsible drinking among college students than in Europe, while in Europe such drinking by the young is more concentrated among the lower classes. Feel free to correct me if my perception is wrong on this.
Well first of all, if you’re considered mentally capable of making a decision to go to war and kill yourself you should be considered mentally capable to decide to buy alcohol. So yes the drinking age should be lowered. Binge drinking is pretty rampant in the UK I agree, but I mean look at the horrible weather they have to put up with. What else do you have to do when the weather sucks most of the year? The rest of Europe has a much better outlook towards drinking as far as I’m concerned.
Also, as I’ve been trying to say for a long time in this thread, I think the problem lies more with the way men are raised in our society than the alcohol itself.
@EarlVanDorn and I agree on this one. My mother - majorette/most popular senior/freshman bride/name-the-honor-she-got-it type of student, opted not to rush at her sorority-heavy southern U along with an equally popular friend in the 50s. She’d have preferred a school without Greek life but her parents limited her to the nearest U. She strongly suggested I choose a school without it and I did, and so did my kids.
