Good clean fun

SANE offers students alcohol-free activities

In contrast to some of the University's draconian efforts to combat student binge drinking, one student group, Students Active in Non-alcoholic Events, is taking a more enlightened approach. Last weekend, SANE held its first alcohol-free event at the Ann Arbor Climbing Gym. Students who participated pledged not to drink for the entire evening; in return, they were allowed to take advantage of the SANE group discount. SANE's alcohol-free activities are proof that there are better ways to change attitudes toward drinking than recent forceful attempts.

Hopefully, proactive student groups like SANE, whose aim is to change the drinking culture at the University, will show some in the University administration how ineffective and unnecessary strong-arm tactics are. Last month, the Office of Student Conflict Resolution reacted to the Ann Arbor Police Department's crackdown on underage drinking by sending 133 students who received alcohol violations letters stating that they had violated the student Code of Conduct. The letters also threatened that any subsequent violation would result in charges brought up under the Code. Punishments for violating the Code can include sanctions as severe as expulsion.

The spirit behind SANE is an admirable one. The efforts of SANE and other groups are proof that apathy has not smothered the University's famous activist tradition and any low-cost attempt to diversify the options available to students during the weekend is a welcome one. Cynics may be inclined to dismiss SANE members as naïve optimists, but the records of similar groups at other large universities are impressive. While the initial turnout at non-alcoholic events sponsored by Penn State University was quite low, the events currently attract about 3,000 students.

The SANE approach to combating student binge drinking deserves praise as well. Drinking is an ingrained aspect of college life that cannot be overcome by police sting operations or mailed threats from the University. The only truly effective response to the drinking culture at American universities is to directly address the culture itself by proving to students that alcohol and an enjoyable evening do not go exclusively hand in hand.

Fortunately, some in the administration have expressed interest in expanding the University's own role in encouraging alternatives to drinking - Director of Housing Bill Zeller, who is a member of the University's Binge Drinking Task Force, has expressed interest in providing students in residence halls with transportation to SANE events.

Something positive must come out of last semester's raids by the Ann Arbor Police Department and the University's intrusive attempt to scare students into not drinking. Hopefully, the University and the AAPD will see the merits of the far more effective and focused philosophy behind SANE's alcohol-free events. Students who are in the process of becoming independent adults are unlikely to receive orders from the University administration very well, especially efforts to forcefully alter student culture.

If the University truly wants to change students' attitudes towards drinking, it needs to collaborate with groups like SANE to offer students alternatives to drinking without being pushy. Student culture can only be changed from the bottom.

01-25-99