When I took Psychology 401 my freshman year I learned to be myself, and to not let other people’s opinions have a major impact on me. It does not matter what other people think of you, as long as you know yourself. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs also struck home with me. One of the pieces of this theory is called “Self-Actualization” which means to have the ability to accept the facts of a given situation. UNH needs to take this lesson to heart. Ever since The Princeton Review first labeled UNH as a party school, administrators have been overreacting and cracking down on many policies, primarily alcohol.
I believe that there is a fine line between protecting students and being out to get every underage student who sips on a beer on a Friday night. I feel as though this line has been crossed. Over the past few years the cops at UNH have become more and more of a problem for students who are looking to relax and have a good time. Now when a student gets caught drinking in their dorm, he or she is more likely to be kicked out after one offense, rather than just receiving probation. The local police have also increased their presence on campus. Go sit in front of D-Hop on a Friday or Saturday night and count how many cops pass you, driving around campus, unnecessarily wasting gas, and taxpayer money.
When I first arrived at UNH and saw people getting arrested, I figured that they were probably really drunk or acting inappropriately. But now that my experience at UNH has grown, I have come to realize that the UNH Police are on a massive power trip. I guarantee that most of the names in the police log belong to good students who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is that really fair to jeopardize a young adult’s career because of a drink? Personally, the recent increase of police resources on campus has had no affect on my drinking habits. I have only learned to become more aware of my surroundings.
I know a lot of you are probably thinking that if someone is under 21, then they shouldn’t drink. I have one thing to say to you if you’re thinking that: This is college, and no matter what UNH’s policies are, students are still going to drink every week. I am not encouraging underage drinking and I am not saying that every college student drinks, but there is a large percentage of our student body that does.
Let us not forget that the National Drinking Age Act was not passed until 1984. Before this, only 12 states had a drinking age of 21. All of the New England and Mid-Atlantic states, with the exception of Pennsylvania, had drinking ages below 21. For example, New Hampshire and Massachusetts’ legal drinking age was 18 from 1973 to 1979, and 20 until 1985. What this means is that most people over the age of 48 who tell us that underage drinking is wrong, could drink when they were 18. I am not trying to start a debate over what the national drinking age should be, but I just wanted let the piece of information be known.
I am not saying that students should go out and get wasted every Friday and Saturday night, but I see nothing wrong with college students having a few drinks on weekends. I believe that moderation is key: if you are able to handle and control yourself after a few drinks, all the power to you. I strongly believe that the social aspects and experiences of college are just as important, if not more important, than what students learn in the classroom.
UNH needs to accept the fact that it is a state university and it always will be. Many UNH alumni have gone on to do great things, and I am very proud to be a member of the student body here. Students come to UNH because they know they will receive an excellent education and also be able to experience a unique social culture. I guess the main point I am trying to make is that state schools are very respectable, but because of the size there will always be a large population of underage students who are going to drink. Until UNH realizes, this I am afraid that there will be a continuous waste of money, time and effort being poured into a failing system.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
The New Hampshirite
The New Hampshirite is a mysterious UNH student who entertains much of the campus with his politically incorrect and realistic accounts of student life in Durham. You can find his blog at http://unhblog.blogspot.com.
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