Universities Should Suppress Excess Alcohol
As I mentioned previously, I became a US citizen not long ago, and the celebrations of my fellow citizens at the ceremony, waving their American flags, were quite a sight to behold.
And when I was looking at the waving of the flags, a flashback just randomly popped into my head of a major controversy at Yale.
Three Yale students, all of whom international, were caught burning an American flag on private property (i.e., they torched a flag that was hanging on the roof of some random house). The discussion of xenophobia and patriotism suddenly spiked because of the incident, and many, students and school officials alike, questioned the motives of the three students and the suitability of their continuing their studies at Yale.
But, really, what happened was just three drunken guys letting out some air. The excess alcohol in their bodies just prevented them from controlling their urge to openly express their “rational” anti-American sentiments.
Of course, it should not be surprising or condemnable for the three students to possess any kind of anti-American sentiments in the first place. Having an emphasis on diversity of student backgrounds, Yale inevitably harbors many so-called dissenting opinions in its student body. The administration, the faculty, and all qualified students should definitely tolerate such feelings running contrary to the sense of patriotism cherished by many on campus.
After all, it is my firm belief that Yale is an international research institution which happens to be located in the United States, and its primary goal is to serve the world at large, not narrowly the interests of America. Besides, it should be duly noted that anti-American feelings are in existence in the world in great abundance and intensity, with millions of people having the urge to burn an American flag at least one point in their lives.
(Unless the desecration of the American flags has become a social norm, such as the streets of Iraq, the anti-American people of the world simply kept their feelings private and hidden, keeping the disrespect done to American flags to a minimum outside of war zones)
In my mind, the most significant point out of this whole incident was the fact that three drunken students broke such an established social norm flagrantly and without thinking about the consequences. It really shows the power of alcohol has on the mind and raises an important question: should there be a stricter control on alcohol consumption on the Yale campus and other college campuses?
If three drunken students with harbored anti-American feelings can burn an American flag on a private property, they can also inflict bodily harm on American students they deem to be xenophobic, or even worse, get into a fight with a group of drunken American students harboring strong hawkish nationalism. The occurrence of the latter incidents could have lead to a complete and uncompromising schism within the Yale student body, potentially erupt a violent conflict that will push Yale to a position of national embarrassment and significant loss of prestige.
All the possible disastrous effects described above can result simply from excessive imbibition of alcohol. Thus, the wisdom of the “hands-off policy” with regard use drinking among its students, practiced at Yale and most American universities, comes into doubt. The schools’ purposeful ignoring of the many uncontrolled, alcohol-filled parties that take place every weekend has given the irresponsible students an opportunity to temporarily abandon gentlemen- and lady-like conducts appropriate for their status as students of higher education.
Sure, in the past (or at least in Yale history), a little of high quality alcohol products such as champagne and wine are served as companion to lively and entertaining discussions of politics and philosophy. Now, entertainment is the act of losing self-control from binging of cheap and dangerously concentrated stuff like grain alcohol. College students across America are drinking not to enjoy drinking but drinking to enjoy getting drunk.
And as they continue their unrestrained imbibition, they not only harm themselves physically through alcohol poisoning, but also mentally by losing control of their own behavior, engaging themselves in acts of sexual misconduct, violence, or in the case of the three Yale students, something considered publicly offensive.
While all high school students expect the existence of drinking parties in all colleges, many certainly cannot imagine the prevalence and abundance of these parties. At a glance, the conducts of the drunken partying students at Yale can be in no way associated with their extraordinary achievements, countless honors, and mature/self-controlled sense of independence that got them into college in the first place.
So, perhaps, without dampening too much of the lively atmosphere, universities should have a certain responsibility to take a more active and suppressive role in restricting the heavy drinking scene among its student population in order to prevent the numerous mindless conducts due to the drunkenness.
While the three Yale students should not be punished for their act of burning the flag itself, they should be punished for their heavy drinking that led to the irresponsible behavior. Only by decisively cracking down on the excessive use of alcohol can the universities truly maintain their reputations of quality as academic institutions and safety as social environments.
And when I was looking at the waving of the flags, a flashback just randomly popped into my head of a major controversy at Yale.
Three Yale students, all of whom international, were caught burning an American flag on private property (i.e., they torched a flag that was hanging on the roof of some random house). The discussion of xenophobia and patriotism suddenly spiked because of the incident, and many, students and school officials alike, questioned the motives of the three students and the suitability of their continuing their studies at Yale.
But, really, what happened was just three drunken guys letting out some air. The excess alcohol in their bodies just prevented them from controlling their urge to openly express their “rational” anti-American sentiments.
Of course, it should not be surprising or condemnable for the three students to possess any kind of anti-American sentiments in the first place. Having an emphasis on diversity of student backgrounds, Yale inevitably harbors many so-called dissenting opinions in its student body. The administration, the faculty, and all qualified students should definitely tolerate such feelings running contrary to the sense of patriotism cherished by many on campus.
After all, it is my firm belief that Yale is an international research institution which happens to be located in the United States, and its primary goal is to serve the world at large, not narrowly the interests of America. Besides, it should be duly noted that anti-American feelings are in existence in the world in great abundance and intensity, with millions of people having the urge to burn an American flag at least one point in their lives.
(Unless the desecration of the American flags has become a social norm, such as the streets of Iraq, the anti-American people of the world simply kept their feelings private and hidden, keeping the disrespect done to American flags to a minimum outside of war zones)
In my mind, the most significant point out of this whole incident was the fact that three drunken students broke such an established social norm flagrantly and without thinking about the consequences. It really shows the power of alcohol has on the mind and raises an important question: should there be a stricter control on alcohol consumption on the Yale campus and other college campuses?
If three drunken students with harbored anti-American feelings can burn an American flag on a private property, they can also inflict bodily harm on American students they deem to be xenophobic, or even worse, get into a fight with a group of drunken American students harboring strong hawkish nationalism. The occurrence of the latter incidents could have lead to a complete and uncompromising schism within the Yale student body, potentially erupt a violent conflict that will push Yale to a position of national embarrassment and significant loss of prestige.
All the possible disastrous effects described above can result simply from excessive imbibition of alcohol. Thus, the wisdom of the “hands-off policy” with regard use drinking among its students, practiced at Yale and most American universities, comes into doubt. The schools’ purposeful ignoring of the many uncontrolled, alcohol-filled parties that take place every weekend has given the irresponsible students an opportunity to temporarily abandon gentlemen- and lady-like conducts appropriate for their status as students of higher education.
Sure, in the past (or at least in Yale history), a little of high quality alcohol products such as champagne and wine are served as companion to lively and entertaining discussions of politics and philosophy. Now, entertainment is the act of losing self-control from binging of cheap and dangerously concentrated stuff like grain alcohol. College students across America are drinking not to enjoy drinking but drinking to enjoy getting drunk.
And as they continue their unrestrained imbibition, they not only harm themselves physically through alcohol poisoning, but also mentally by losing control of their own behavior, engaging themselves in acts of sexual misconduct, violence, or in the case of the three Yale students, something considered publicly offensive.
While all high school students expect the existence of drinking parties in all colleges, many certainly cannot imagine the prevalence and abundance of these parties. At a glance, the conducts of the drunken partying students at Yale can be in no way associated with their extraordinary achievements, countless honors, and mature/self-controlled sense of independence that got them into college in the first place.
So, perhaps, without dampening too much of the lively atmosphere, universities should have a certain responsibility to take a more active and suppressive role in restricting the heavy drinking scene among its student population in order to prevent the numerous mindless conducts due to the drunkenness.
While the three Yale students should not be punished for their act of burning the flag itself, they should be punished for their heavy drinking that led to the irresponsible behavior. Only by decisively cracking down on the excessive use of alcohol can the universities truly maintain their reputations of quality as academic institutions and safety as social environments.
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