There’s no easy way to say what I intend to say; I am simply completing my assignment. I would like to make clear, though, that the views I express are entirely my own. As a 21-year-old college senior, my perspectives may not be the most objective. I can say with certainty, however, that my views are shared by others on campus. I will be reasonable and honest, as my readers should always expect from me. Thank you again for your readership.
Yes, we are not a dry campus. That is to say, students aged 21 and over are allowed to possess and consume alcohol. According to Elizabethtown College’s Alcohol and Other Drug Policy, students of the legal age are allowed to have a six-pack of beer or a pint of hard liquor in their possession, which places some restrictions on what is appropriate. The effectiveness of these policies is a debate for another time, with strong arguments on both sides.
I do not intend to speak poorly of the College’s policies. I am simply presenting challenging questions that reflect some degree of my ability to critically analyze a situation, which every college student should be able to do. This article is not about college policies, though. This is about a certain email that every student received on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014, at 4:19 p.m. Yes, I mean the “dimly lit basement” email, and I am not the only one calling it this. For those who do not recall, students received an email from the Office of Marketing and Communications on behalf of the Dean of Students reminding us of safety considerations at off-campus parties. Two weekends, including Homecoming Weekend, have passed since the sending of this email. What has the sending of this email accomplished? Let’s take a look.
Let me begin by pointing out what I appreciate about the campus-wide notification. The notice suggests several ways to promote a safer experience at congested off-campus parties. Nobody wants to see their friends end up in dire straits, and encouragement to depend on “trusted friends,” as stated in the email, should resound well with our Blue Jay community. A reminder of the state’s and College’s mandates regarding alcohol is also valuable. Any student — especially under the age of 21 — who chooses to attend off-campus parties needs to be aware of the risks involved. Finally, the email never outright states that “you must never drink off campus” or anything of that nature. In other words, our autonomy is respected, and any college student can appreciate that.
While I acknowledge the good intentions of the campus-wide email, there are some aspects of its distribution that I must question. When I saw the “Campus News” headline, I did not expect to read a public service announcement regarding alcohol safety. The fact that the email had to come through the Office of Marketing and Communications sends the wrong message. While it may be easier to contact the entire campus using the Office as a liaison, the sincerity of message would be stronger had the email come directly from a singular person or figure on campus. I recognize that my understanding of campus-wide notifications is limited, but a hallmark of Etown is the personal connections between faculty and staff members and students, and this email was a missed opportunity to reinforce that idea.
Secondarily, I have always posited that the medium is the message. This email touches on a greater concept of educating our student population about alcohol safety. Is an email the most effective way to go about this? With an Office of Student Wellness that receives funding for educational programming, isn’t a campus-wide email a disrespect to the services they offer? Or is it a reinforcement? According to the most recent edition of Campus News, “in honor of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, the Office of Student Wellness is hosting an alcohol-free tailgate before the Men’s Soccer Game on Saturday, October 25 at 1 p.m.” Perhaps the email regarding off-campus parties should have advertised this event as well, if education was the intent of the email in question.
Finally, there are some pieces of wording in the email that bother me. Granted, I am nitpicking, but tough topics deserve careful wording. The sentence “We are also aware that large off-campus parties are being held in dimly lit, small basements with limited options for safe exit” has actually roused laughter out of some students. The word choice of “we are also aware” sends the unintended message of boastfulness about how informed the College authorities are. The ultra-specific details of the sentence (e.g. “dimly lit”) even suggest some braggadocio on the part of the senders. “Look at how much we know about these off-campus parties!” the wording seems to imply. I was turned off by this as a reader, somewhat invalidating the messages that followed — many of which were positive.
The fact remains that off-campus parties will still happen, much to the delight of some and the chagrin of others. I would also hazard a guess that no student who intended to go to an off-campus party the weekend of the email’s sending suddenly had a change of heart upon reading it. But I doubt that was the goal of the email, anyway.
The email encouraged us to be safe and depend on friends, which the vast majority of students fortunately do inherently. And from what I observed, the email was met with the nodding of heads and the rolling of eyes alike. That can’t be helped. Reaching the student body in a way that respects our independence and intelligence is no easy task. But whatever your weekend plans are, at least take it from me: you do you — just be smart about it.