Not long ago, my wife and I were awakened at 3 a.m. by drunken shouting outside our bedroom window in Lewis Place, the historic home of Miami University presidents. The next morning we learned that inebriated students, returning to campus from uptown bars and off-campus parties, had been on a rampage, overturning cars, destroying a heavy ornamental fence on our home, and disrupting our normally tranquil neighborhood. The cost to the university of their night's revelry was thousands of dollars. The cost to the academic climate of the campus was far greater. Alcohol abuse among college students has become a national scandal.
Studies show that fifty percent of all college students regularly engage in binge drinking.
Other university presidents tell me that underage drinking is rampant on their campuses, as freshmen and sophomores quickly learn easy ways to circumvent the law. Vandalism, sexual assaults and other acts of campus violence are the most overt symptoms of this abuse, as is the occasional death of a student from alcohol poisoning. However, these publicized events are merely the tip of the iceberg. Far more numerous are the students whose education has been disrupted by alcohol. Students who miss classes, fail exams, and are unable to concentrate, are squandering their college years.