Alcohol awareness

A couple of statements related to alcohol problems among Kansas University students got our attention.

Recent survey results about student drinking indicate that KU students are drinking less alcohol on campus but more alcohol off campus and that Lawrence may have a higher tolerance for underage drinking than other college communities.

Although KU officials still are analyzing data from the national surveys, those are some interesting conclusions for local residents to consider.

KU officials acknowledge there are significant problems with drinking on campus, but the difficulties also extend to off-campus venues. Simply pushing students off-campus to drink doesn’t mean they’ll drink less. With the sophisticated methods now used to produce fake identification cards, policing underage drinking is a challenge for local bar owners, but would stronger enforcement or stiffer penalties for using false ID’s help deter their use?

It’s also an interesting contention that Lawrence may be more tolerant of underage drinking than some other communities. We wouldn’t like to think that is true, but a current debate about whether to use Breathalyzers at the high schools’ annual Project Graduation event next spring may cause some to wonder. Organizers are concerned that forcing teens to pass a Breathalyzer test may discourage attendance at the popular after-graduation party. A similar policy has been in place for several years for school dances.

There are a couple of ways to look at the Breathalyzer issue. Those who don’t want to test students probably reason that it’s better to have students who have been drinking in a safe, alcohol-free environment than out driving around with their friends. These also are high school graduates who are entering the adult world in which someone else won’t always be policing their behavior.

On the other hand, simply looking the other way when intoxicated students show up at the party at least passively condones that behavior, which sends an important message not only to the intoxicated students but to students who have made a more responsible choice.

The KU survey conclusions and the Project Graduation debate offer Lawrence a great opportunity to reflect on what message local businesses and individuals are projecting about underage drinking. Parents, students and law enforcement have a big role in preventing problem drinking, but they also need the support of a community that doesn’t just look the other way.