By Jamie Kanter
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 22, 1997

Two beers or not two beers

Arizona Daily Wildcat Jamie Kanter

In the Oct. 11 issue of the Tucson Citizen, a shocking revelation was made. The headline read "36% of UA students 'binge drinkers.'" I recently joined the ranks.

Saturday marked my 21st birthday. Like so many others have done before me, I participated in the time-honored ritual of destroying my body with alcoholic beverages. (Sure, it's no ritual circumcision, but it's still pretty cool).

I paid the price for my indulgence after the binge was completed. I threw up in the parking lots of two local pubs and continued my penance at home. My Sunday was spent in bed, shoving Saltines and water down my throat in the hopes of recovering my health before classes on Monday. It almost worked.

Some of you out there might be asking yourself why I would do such a stupid thing in light of recent events in the news. Some poor freshman at Louisiana State University drank himself to death a few weeks ago. Sixty-nine people were recently cited for alcohol at a party near our campus. And a freshman girl recently reported a rape that occurred after a night of heavy drinking. And yet I chose to drink.

That's right, I chose to pump myself full of Cocaine Shooters, Cement Mixers, Kamikazes and Screaming Nazis. (While some of those might not sound quite politically correct, I can assure you that they hold no prejudice. They screw everyone equally.) Sure, I had friends encouraging the process, buying me shots at every turn, but I cannot escape the fact that I did it to myself. Too many of us want to escape the responsibility.

Many recent letters appearing in the Wildcat have attempted to figure out the underlying causes behind this alcohol epidemic at our school. They cite the Greek system as an inherent evil, peer pressure as an overwhelming force, and easy availability as an undeniable temptation. I say that personal choice supersedes all of the above.

We look at the Greek system as a four-year drinking spree. Police Beat constantly tells us of different members of different houses being cited for unruly behavior or providing alcohol to minors (even a 14-year-old boy in one case). We see this awful behavior and say, "Death to the Greeks who sully our campus. May they take their drunk asses away." But it's not the system's fault.

Each and every Greek member can choose whether or not to drink. They have the same rights as every one of the non-Greeks out there (myself included). If they choose to drink, fine. If they don't, fine. The choice is theirs, no matter how available the alcohol is or how persuasive other members might be. There is simply no way to put the system on trial when each member chooses his or her own actions.

And it is not just the Greek system that encourages alcohol use. Many campus organizations (which shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) encourage members to drink. They give their members alcohol and expect them to imbibe. However, there is no campus organization (that I know of) that forces its members or inductees to drink at gunpoint, knifepoint, sharp spoonpoint, dull forkpoint or arrowpoint.

These groups cannot justify forcing alcohol down the throats of their members. Sure, they can poke, prod, goad, provoke and incite their members to join in all of the drunken reindeer games, but not one group out there can ever make someone drink if they are strong in their convictions.

There was a non-drinker (who shall be called "Bernice" to protect the innocent) in a certain organization with me last year. Bernice did not drink, everyone knew it, and there was no pressure exerted on her to do so. She participated in our events and was not excluded because she did not drink. In fact, we all respected her choice and commended her for making it. Even though most were drinkers, Bernice remained a well-liked, active member. There is no reason that this cannot happen in any campus group. After all, we are all "adults."

It is simply wrong to look at drinking from an organizational standpoint. People drink, not organizations I choose to drink and others choose not to drink. Each individual makes up his or her own mind. That should be the final word. We learn early on that we have the right to say "no" if we feel uncomfortable. That's still all it takes, even with all of these evil groups trying to force alcohol upon their hapless members.

So, you see, everyone can make choices. If you want to knock down a few, tip 'em back and keep 'em coming. If you enjoy sobriety, grab some Kool-Aid and go to town. Either way, you choose what you do.

Remember, you don't have to drink a cocktail; you can just watch the movie.

Jamie Kanter is a senior majoring in Spanish and psychology.