While I’m glad to see my fellow students and our administrators concerned about the safety of the Veishea celebration, I’m disappointed at the rather simplistic and short-sighted thinking that’s being held up as the solution to all of our Veishea woes.

In a situation like this, it’s very easy to lay all the blame on a single factor. In this case, the apparent culprit is alcohol — a magical Jekyll/Hyde potion that transforms ordinarily decent, responsible people into semi-retarded animals without remorse or recollection.

If only we could get rid of alcohol, everything would be OK, right?

Of course, it’s preposterous to suppose that any amount of “pledging” by student leaders is going to change anything. These aren’t the people causing problems. The most that can be hoped from instating a “dry Veishea” (something of an oxymoron in itself) is to drive the misbehavior further off campus and further out of our hands.

It’s equally ridiculous to pretend that alcohol is not a problem that needs to be dealt with. The problematic misconceptions here seem to be that alcohol is the only problem, that it is only a problem three days of the year and that only the way to cope with the problem is by trying to eradicate it.

History has shown time and again that this is not only next to impossible, but likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Issuing a campus-wide ban on alcohol would be an empty gesture; it would accomplish nothing beyond making our leaders and administrators look good, at least until the next disaster hits.

Instead of a blanket prohibition that would pretty much exist only in theory, I would like to see our university and its student organizations make a real difference by committing their resources and energy to promoting safe, responsible drinking.

I propose that instead of promising to go dry, students take a pledge to party smart: that is, to abstain from driving, to stop when they’ve had enough, to keep an eye on their friends and otherwise stay out of trouble.

ISU has both the ability and the responsibility to address these problems legitimately. We can organize a volunteer army of designated drivers, counselors, escorts, medical and security personnel.

Greek and residence hall houses can organize volunteers to stay sober and make sure their friends celebrate safely. Off-campus parties can lay down and enforce their own ground rules.

In addition, we need to make help available for those having problems with alcohol year-round, not just at Veishea. Granted, not everyone will be willing to take and observe a pledge like this, and it won’t make President Jischke look quite as good, but I think it stands a far better chance of making a real and positive impact than anything that’s been put on the table so far.

I applaud the efforts of those working to create more alternatives to drinking for those who wish to stay sober. However, I see no reason why a “family Veishea” and a “party Veishea” must be mutually exclusive, provided we celebrate like the adults we demand to be treated like.

I reject President Jischke’s proposal, not because I feel that alcohol is necessary to enjoy Veishea, but because I believe it insults our intelligence.

It, in fact, has the potential to do more harm than good. I don’t want to see my school embarrass itself by making rules it can’t possibly enforce, especially when it’s capable of doing so much more to keep Veishea safe.

We’ve all learned from previous years’ problems that entire communities can be impacted profoundly by the behavior of a few individuals.

What we’ve apparently failed to grasp is that it’s not quite as easy for the community to manipulate the behavior of individuals. The president’s pledge is a cop-out: it’s convenient and it sounds good, but it evades the real issue doesn’t solve any real problems.

It relies upon the good faith of those who have already proven they can’t handle the responsibility of drinking, while unfairly restricts those who can and do.

Violence is not caused by alcohol. Violence will not go away just because we say we’ll go dry. Banning booze is not a solution, it’s a half-baked quick-fix.

It’s not enough, and we’re fooling ourselves if we think it is. We need to roll up our sleeves and take on these issues seriously and individually. We should have figured out by now that there aren’t always easy answers to complicated problems, so let’s make a commitment to finally start looking for real solutions.

---

Josh Raulerson

Sophomore

Journalism and mass communications