A recent sexual assault case at Stanford University which involved drinking has led to a new alcohol policy which bans hard liquor except in limited cases.
Does anyone believe this policy will keep students from obtaining and consuming hard liquor?
Campus Reform reported:
Stanford takes shots at alcohol, Pres. Hennessy bans liquorStanford University has banned all hard liquor at undergraduate parties in an effort to reduce binge drinking on campus.The new policy comes after Brock Turner, a former Stanford swimmer, received a six-month sentence for sexual assault after a night of heavy drinking, which triggered national outrage and launched a several months long discussion a Stanford about student alcohol consumption.In a March email to students, Stanford President John L. Hennessy and Provost John Etchemendy observe that “colleges and universities across the country continue to wrestle with alcohol and the high-risk behaviors that can result from its misuse,” claiming that Stanford is no exception.“At Stanford, we have worked together…in many ways…to build a healthier campus culture around alcohol,” the missive continues. “Despite the progress that has been made, we believe a serious issue still confronts this campus.”They went on to argue that the school needs new solutions to combat binge drinking and its effects on campus, and said they would be exploring new options to change the culture around alcohol on campus.Now, the school has issued a new directive banning all spirits over 20 percent alcohol content (40 proof) at undergraduate on-campus parties.Graduate students will still be allowed to consume hard alcohol at on-campus parties, but only in the form of cocktails, and even those may only be consumed at a party at which no undergraduate students are present.This, of course, means that shots of alcohol are banned on campus under all circumstances.
College students who want to drink whiskey, vodka or gin will find a way to do it, despite any proclamations from the university administration. More to the point, the liquor ban may not do anything to stem sexual assaults.
USA Today reports:
Critics: Stanford’s new alcohol ban won’t prevent sexual assaultsA new, stricter alcohol policy announced this week at Stanford University is coming under fire from critics, who say the ban on hard liquor at most on-campus parties will do little to prevent sexual assault…Washington, D.C., attorney Douglas Fierberg, who specializes in lawsuits involving fraternity hazing, deaths, injuries and other cases, said the new hard liquor rules don’t really address the core issue at hand: fraternities that are allowed to self-govern.“It’s hard to look at this policy with respect to fraternities and be very optimistic,” he said. Though Greek Life organizations at Stanford are considered university housing, Stanford exerts “no responsible supervision” over fraternities.“While this policy goes a long way to prohibit certain quantities of alcohol in housing, the Greek community is still not supervised like all other Stanford housing,” Fierberg said. “So the idea that increased restrictions (are) going to solve the problem in the Greek community will never be better than its means of implementation. That same assumption has failed thousands of times across the country.”
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