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Alcohol, spring break and St. Olaf

By Dean of Students Greg Kneser
February 20, 2008

There are few topics among students, deans, faculty, parents and others on campus that generate a quicker and more spirited debate than alcohol and how we deal with it in a residential learning community.

GregKneser07Head
Kneser
A friend once described himself as "often wrong, but rarely unsure" of himself. This sounds like everyone I know involved in the debate about alcohol on campus, including me!

Data on drinking at St. Olaf tells us that our students probably drink less and are less likely to abuse alcohol than their national peers, but not by any measure that one would call reassuring. Further, we advocate for and enforce a policy that says we are a "dry" campus, but, in fact, the voluntary behavior of 3,000 young people does not always follow.

I sometimes receive angry or frustrated letters from parents on the topic, and we try to engage in thoughtful conversation to improve the conditions of the students (I am guessing this message will trigger more). Aside from the week-to-week activity on and off campus, spring break is approaching, and the choices that students make is more than an academic question -- it is an important fact of life that is not lost on us at St. Olaf.

I want to share a perspective that is sometimes lost in all of the rhetoric. I believe that when we focus solely on alcohol, we sometimes miss how alcohol actually becomes a high risk for students. In my work, we point out that alcohol abuse is most dangerous when it becomes enmeshed in other conditions or behaviors. For example, alcohol abuse and sexual behavior may create risks of pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and sexual violence. Alcohol abuse and depression or anxiety may create self-medicating situations that prolong or deepen the mental health concern. Alcohol abuse and academic challenge may affect motivation, performance, persistence and long-term success.

This is not a condemnation of "demon rum," yet I am a firm believer that our policy and approach is the right one for St. Olaf and higher education in general. Decent, moral and smart people disagree with me on both sides of our stance, and it is worth listening to and considering the various viewpoints.

However, because we still have to deal with the personal choices and challenges of 3,000 young people, we also have to deal with behavior and consequences. When we catch an occasional breather, we have the philosophical discussion as well.

It's a complex, fluid and frustrating set of problems most of the time, but it is a job we are willing and able to do, and we welcome your help.

Greg Kneser
Vice President and Dean of Students

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.