<p>Lets not jump to conclusions as to how this young man died. Having said that…we can discuss the alcohol issue WITHOUT assuming that there’s any link between it and this young man’s death. </p>
<p>As I understand it, the difference between Yale and the other schools involved is what you have to do to host a “party” and what constitutes a “party.” </p>
<p>Three Harvard students wrote a letter about 7 or 8 years ago (just based on my memory) which was published in the Harvard Crimson. It said that Harvard lacked a vibrant social life and would have a better one if it removed the restrictions and functioned more like Yale. (The authors weren’t exactly wild and crazy types–and, yes, I know them or should say I knew them; I haven’t seen them in years).Harvard’s rules–at least at that time–was that you couldn’t have 20 or more students in a room without having to register in advance as a party. Get caught with 20 people in your room and you are subject to disciplinary action–or at least that was the case when the letter was written. </p>
<p>No such rule exists at Yale. It’s quite common for more than 20 people to gather in someone’s common room spontaneously. There are residential colleges in which certain favorite TV shows are watched by large groups of friends on a weekly basis as a study break. Nobody counts to see how many folks are there and nobody cares if some of them are drinking beer. </p>
<p>Now, it can be argued–and Harvard takes the position–that when 20 students get together in a room, especially if there’s alcohol involved, things can get out of control. </p>
<p>But it can also be argued that when there is a policy like that, social life suffers. It also tends to move the “fun” off campus, where it is more expensive, and the difference between haves and have nots matters more.</p>
<p>At least back then, at Harvard, the whole team could go out to a restaurant together after a game, but they couldn’t go back to someone’s room and order a pizza. You couldn’t have 20 students meet to watch the baseball playoffs together without registering as a party. You couldn’t have the College Republicans get together to watch a Presidential debate without registering in advance for a party.</p>
<p>While my info is most definitely anecdotal and second hand, I think I have a pretty good sense of the amount of drinking that goes on at all the Ivies. From what I know, Yale is far from being the Ivy with the most drinking. It’s not even a contender. (Harvard isn’t either. )</p>
<p>IMO, the kids who suffer most under the party policies of some of the stricter schools are the kids who drink, but rarely drink too much–and the kids who don’t have much money. Instead of watching the game in a common room with pizza and beer, the gang heads to a bar and watches it there. (And if you seriously believe that you can’t get into a bar in Cambridge unless you’re 21, you must believe in the tooth fairy.) </p>
<p>The Safety Dance is a residential-college sponsored party and thus it met all the red-tape requirements. So, the difference between the party policies at Harvard and Yale have zilch to do with the number of students who needed medical attention at the dance. </p>
<p>Not only do we not know how this young man died–there’s no indication that he got intoxicated at a “party” which wasn’t regulated at Yale but would not have taken place or would have been subject to regulation at Harvard.</p>