Stanford's New Alcohol Policy Isn't Based On Much Research (vice.com)

Sophia Carter-Kahn, reporting for Motherboard: Last week Stanford University announced a strict new alcohol policy in hopes to curb binge drinking. The new policy bans hard liquor at on-campus parties, and restricts hard alcohol in undergraduate possession to containers smaller than 750 milliliters ("a fifth"). Lisa Lapin, the vice president of university communications, clarified that the goal is to prevent medical transports [i.e. trips to the hospital]. Universities across the country are looking for new ways to deal with dangerous binge drinking. If this new restriction at Stanford is successful, it would set a precedent for how universities across the country grapple with a seemingly insurmountable alcohol problem. There's just one catch: there's little data to suggest restricting bottle size can change college drinking culture. Colleges have tried different strategies, from mailing parents flyers about alcoholism stats to policing campuses to break up parties. Dartmouth College, for example, implemented a hard alcohol ban last year. And the University of Virginia cracked down on liquor and Greek life on campus. But their efforts don't seem to be working. Drunkorexia -- skipping meals to have more room for alcohol -- is on the rise. And administrative desperation to find some way to reduce alcohol consumption has continued.

Comments

Re:Culture

[markus]

There is an obvious way to fix this. But it takes a lot of work to change the existing culture, and the transition phase will be painful.

Do what Europe has been doing successfully for decades. Lower the drinking age to 16 years, and raise the driving age to 18 years. Kids will still drink, but the thrill of doing something crazy and/or illegal has long since worn off, by the time they get their drivers licenses and get into college. Also, there is a lot less stigma around drinking. So, calling another adult to give you a ride home is really not a big deal.

I have grown up in this culture (in Germany), and excessive drinking is a lot less of a problem than it is in the US. People still get drunk, don't get me wrong, but hear of far fewer cases of drunk driving and I have a really hard time remembering the last time I heard of anybody going to the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

Re:Lower the drinking age

[The-Ixian]

I was going to post something similar.

In my own experience, problem drinking stems from unpreparedness. If you are living away from home for the first time it can be an overwhelming experience when all these new and previously restricted things are shoved in your face.

You could solve a lot of problems by just preparing people earlier. And what better way to prepare than to get your hands dirty? As in, allow some "bad" things (drinking, drug use, sexual relationships, break-ups and financial mishaps to name a few) to happen while the child is still in a safe and controlled environment so they know better how to deal with them when they arise in the real world.

Think of it like vaccinating your kids for the real world. It doesn't just help them, it helps the other kids around them.