It’s too early to tell if sending the message to drink responsibly has been working enough to lower alcohol-related accidents, but it’s also too soon to give up trying to promote it.
A study released Tuesday by the Task Force on College Drinking, showed 1,400 college students are killed each year in alcohol-related accidents. Drinking by college students has contributed to an estimated 500,000 injuries and 70,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape.
In a recent showing of how the study relates to MSU, five MSU students are being prosecuted with charges related to providing alcohol to Eric Blair, an 18-year-old Bay City man, who drowned in the Red Cedar River in October. Blair was drinking with friends at MSU before he fell into the river.
There is a huge problem on the hands of university officials, students and police nationwide.
On college campuses nationwide, many students make the choice to drink - some drink with caution, others don’t. The thousands of accidents and deaths that crop up at institutions across the country every year are proof of this.
We realize some form of education is necessary to combat the problems that go along with alcohol, but there also should be some sort of consistency in the message being advertised.
Over the years we have watched various commercials sprout up either encouraging students not to drink, advising them of the amounts of alcohol to drink, or urging them to drink responsibly. The question is, which message should students be receiving?
It seems as if students and the general public are being fed a pot of soup overflowing with mixed messages. There doesn’t seem to be any long-standing message that people can grasp and hold onto.
Researchers say general campaigns warning of the dangers of alcohol have not been effective. Instead, they encourage teaching students to resist peer pressure, show them how alcohol may interfere with academic goals and strictly enforce minimum age laws.
Some have suggested holding Saturday classes and more exams on Fridays to discourage the problem.
But such police-state tactics won’t help.Students will continue to drink, no matter what. By not informing them how to do so, more accidents stand to happen.
Police crackdowns only will intensify the already rocky relationship between the police force and the public. By asking officers to keep an eagle’s eye on students and catch them in the act of abusing alcohol, the public is asking for more problems.
No one strategy will help. There should be a combination of consistent messages. Before extreme measures are taken, the drink responsibly message should be given a little more time to sink in.
