There are unfair rules about alcohol consumption and possession on campus.
USI is considered a dry campus, yet we have on-campus housing for people who are over the legal drinking age.
By law, alcohol consumption is legal to anyone over the age of 21, however there are many 21-year-olds living on campus that are having their legal rights ripped out from under them.
As a student, I do not see eye to eye with the dry campus policy and forbidding alcohol to be consumed in someone’s home when they are of the legal age to drink.
If I am paying to live somewhere – and I am legally allowed to drink – I expect to be able to consume alcohol in my home without the fear of getting into trouble with Public Safety.
The dry campus policy should not be revoked entirely, but there should be different circumstances for people who are of age.
Understandably, giving 21-year-olds the option to drink on campus may cause a fear of an increase in the number of student residents who are younger than 21 consuming alcohol.
However, giving 21-year-olds the option to drink in their on-campus apartments is not going to have an impact on the alcohol consumption of the overall student population living on campus.
If someone under the legal drinking age wants to drink on campus – whether it be in their dorm or in their on-campus apartment – he or she is going to drink.
Yes, their Resident Assistant may catch them, but they are going to drink either way. It’s inevitable.
There is not a solution to stop drinking on campus, but there is a solution that can benefit those who are of the legal age to consume alcohol – let 21-year-olds exercise their rights.