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SCSU rules are not fair
I just turned 21 and I can still drink illegally. If you don’t believe me, just stop by 801 Benton sometime. I’ll let you watch. It’s a relief, in a sense – drinking can be a little disappointing without that thrill of avoiding the police. But when I stop to think about it, this rule just doesn’t make sense.
To be fair, SCSU has been a good landlord. I’m close to campus, have food provided and the rates are reasonable. I’m happy with our arrangement, or I wouldn’t still be here. I don’t know another landlord, though, that would tell me I can’t drink in my apartment if I’m of age. It would be absurd – for your money, the landlord gives you a place along with privacy and freedom. So why are the dorms (specifically Benton, which is more of an apartment than a dorm) any different?
Residential Life does have its reasons for this. Students tend to be irresponsible drinkers, they say. They might do crazy, dangerous things straight out of “Dead Man on Campus,” their parties can get noisy, drunks can break things and nobody wants to clean up the puke. Do these reasons sound familiar? They should – they’re some of the same ones that were used to raise the drinking age to 21 when we were kids. At 21, students (and everyone else) are supposed to be more responsible, less likely to do all the things that give drinking a bad name. The State of Minnesota signed on to this.
But now there’s a double standard. The state lets me drink – just not in its apartments.
My beloved home state of Wisconsin (a state that’s not in denial about its drinking) has a better solution to this problem. On most UW campuses, rooms are classified as wet (two 21+ residents), moist (one of each) and dry. If both residents are 21, they can drink to their hearts’ content and serve drinks to friends of age. In a moist room, the overage student can drink, but the number of drinking guests is limited. In a dry room, no alcohol is allowed. Kegs and the like are banned, just like in most apartments.
This policy is fair to everyone. Normal noise rules, of course, still apply, so the neighbors can stay happy. Underage students still can’t drink. Best of all, the students who are old enough get to be treated like the adults the state says they are.
Mike Lauterbach can be reached at: [email protected]
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