I recognize that I am in the minority: many parents turn a blind eye to the inevitable and their offspring end up being irresonsible drinkers. I wish that many of my peers would and could learn that alcohol isn’t everything there is to a social life; some of my best evenings at Middlebury– when my friends and I laughed the hardest, danced the most, or had amazing conversations– occurred without alcohol.

Now that most students are out from under the wings of their parents, perhaps the College could aid in helping of age students become responsible drinkers. Wine and beer tastings? Wine with dinner in the dining halls on some nights? (I think there’s another college that already does this). J-term lit classes that combine the two? I think the College could go a long way in serving as a role model; implicitly, the of age students would then serve as role models for the underclassmen, who, despite the best efforts of the liquor inspector, will drink, but at least fewer of them may end up in the bushes by Twilight, or, worse, Porter.

Bravo for adding this feature! I think it’s a great way for your office to get the word out about upcoming plans. We’ve come a long ways from mass voice mails and mailings stuffed in student boxes in McCullough.

Best,
Nate

I’m wondering if taking the subject more out in the open, as you’ve done with your post, is something to consider? I mean, why not have a sort of symposium about it, run and organized by students, and involving students from other schools as well, Bates, Colby, Williams, Bowdoin, etc.–a “Northeast Regional Student Conference on Residential Life and Alcohol.”

There are plenty of issues pertaining to residential life we can talk about; however, at the top of the list must be alcohol.

Your post opens up the discussion. It brings it out in a clear and interesting way, challenging us to think about it. I think we can open this up some more, no?

Thank you, Tim!

hector