TO THE EDITOR:
We write in response to The Miami Student's Feb. 26 column, headlined "Miami administration's attempts to combat drinking culture is all 'smoke and mirrors.'"
The students, staff and faculty who serve on the Alcohol Coordinating Committee (ACC) and its five work groups recognize that high-risk drinking behaviors pose a serious threat to the Miami and Oxford communities. Specifically, those who choose to engage in high-risk behaviors put themselves and others at risk, and as a caring community, we need to work together to reduce this risk. If we choose to consume, we have a responsibility to practice legal, safe and low-risk alcohol use. If not, we have a right to expect such use.
The ACC and work groups are charged to find strategies, propose policy and support student-led initiatives that encourage safe and smart behaviors regarding alcohol use. We are committed to this work.
The behavioral expectations inherent in the Code of Student Conduct and local statutes must be effectively communicated to students, and then consistently and fairly enforced. At the same time, we recognize that student behavior is influenced through a variety of factors - individual disposition and goals; relationships and peer pressure; and broad environmental factors. These factors influence students' decisions, which are based on how they perceive the risks and rewards of drinking.
The ACC is reviewing many strategies, including working in partnership with the Oxford community, improving alcohol education, offering support to students in recovery and increasing resources for students who require intervention. We are dedicated to improving the health and safety of all of our students, whether or not they themselves choose to drink alcohol. Alcohol abuse has a detrimental effect on our entire community, so we are working diligently to reduce it.
However, our efforts can be successful only if students themselves recognize the potential dangers of high-risk alcohol use and work together to address this problem. Miami students have demonstrated they want to play an active role in creating a better community through student-led initiatives such as: Safe Spring Break Campaign, Step Up! Bystander Intervention and Late Night Miami.
Nationally, campuses where there has been a shift in student culture have had the most success in decreasing negative consequences from high-risk alcohol abuse.
We invite students to join our work groups to better inform the process and equip students to create student-led change. To join us, email Rebecca Baudry Young at the address below:
baudrym@miamioh.edu