Is a dry campus the right choice? College is about making memories, both good and bad. The university of South Alabama is a dry campus, which means that there are no alcoholic beverages allowed in your dorm room or at any event on campus. Even though the legal age for consuming alcohol is twenty-one students still participate in underage drinking. The legal age to smoke tobacco products in the state of Alabama is nineteen and at least fifty percent of the students at the University of South Alabama smoke tobacco reduces under age.
So why should we continue to be a dry campus? The University of South Alabama is a Division One school and sooner than later we will be getting a stadium for our football team on campus. That in tells tailgating and that will mean consumption of alcohol on campus. Now the university could go through people getting permits for their tailgating tents but that Is a lot of work. People are generally lazy and that will cause less revenue for football games and less participation from our Alumni.
I know Sororities and Fraternities have a permit that lows them to have alcoholic beverages in their houses for their parties, which are on campus. At these parties you have to have your driver’s license and you receive marking on your hands if you are allowed to drink or not. Also in the Mitchell Center during basketball games or any event held at the Mitchell Center there are alcoholic beverages sold in the concession stand. How can this be a dry campus if there are two places on campus that allow the consumption of alcohol?
When I surveyed university of South Alabama students around campus they said they would love to be bled to drink on campus because most universities allow their students to drink on campus. Also students stated that they already drink In there dorms but they would like to know that they wont get written up for drinking In their rooms. Students also said they feel like their freedom is being taken away from them. I also surveyed student who stay in the Grove Apartments who also aren’t allowed to drink because the Grove is a part of the university.
Most of those students said they find it very unfair that they aren’t allowed to drink in their own apartments. Students wouldn’t abuse the fact that they would be allowed to drink on campus and it would help the faculty with dealing with less write ups. It would also stop drinking and driving because most student feel like they have to go off campus to drink instead of being safe in their dorms. I don’t see anything wrong with a wet campus such as University of Alabama.
Students drink freely in the dorms and speaking with some of my friends who attend the University of Alabama campus, they said they’re having a better allege experience, because they get experience parties and events differently then students here at the university of South Alabama. Solutions for this problem are very simple allow drinking on campus. How would have to start a petition most likely. Also we would have to speak with our SAGA because they are supposed to be the voice for the students. Once we have stated our case then the SAGA can take our suggestions and propose this idea to the president of the University of South Alabama.
That would be one of the steps to changing our campus from a dry campus to a wet campus. Also if enough students suggest interest in this we could email the President directly. In conclusion, most students would like to drink on campus because even though college is about learning, it is also about making great experiences with friends. An experience that everyone wants to participate in is the consumption of alcohol especially if you are twenty one and you live on campus; we shouldn’t be reprimanded if we decide to consume alcohol. Eventually the campus will have to change their point of view.
The University of South Alabama has only been established for fifty years and there are still changes that need to happen. Our first change can be to change the campus from a dry campus to a wet campus. Students at the University of South Alabama want to be treated like adults, that’s we came to college for the freedom. The University shouldn’t make that decision for us we should decide if we want consume alcohol or not. Making the University of South Alabama a wet campus will prevent rebellious behavior and even prevent students secretly drinking and consuming too much alcohol.
