Don't blame it on the booze

It’s wise to know that alcohol can undoubtedly help pave the path to catastrophes for anybody on college campuses.

The unfortunate loss of students when alcohol is involved is always tragic.

Still, blaming it on the alcohol is a shallow perspective.

In the wake of such tragedies, people often entangle themselves with their own emotions such as sorrow, anger or fear.

Though this is a natural response, it limits our ability to respond more logically to these events.

People are quick to point to alcohol as the problem and culprit of these
tragedies.

But they don’t understand that alcohol as a substance, when abused, can amplify dangerous or careless behavior that was already there to begin with.

This is similar to how people are eager to demonize firearms for gun violence or when a child hurts themselves after picking up a gun.

The base for violence and danger is founded before any weapon is touched.

These hazardous precedents could be a mentally unstable person pumped with psychotropic drugs, a mismanaged local government continuing to make irresponsible decisions or careless guardians with no regards for gun safety.

Like a gun, alcohol is not a source of danger.

When people decide to drink, they are accepting its given risks before they grab their first beer or take their first shot.

Perhaps the most common risk students take is drinking with unfamiliar people, which can manifest into serious problems.

Sure, drinking is a popular way to make new friends in college, but strangers are less likely to help you during a crisis or accident.

If strangers were always willing to run that risk we wouldn’t be having this discussion in the first place.

This is where the Indiana Lifeline Law can make a difference. It eliminates that risk altogether.

But Indiana Lifeline Law awareness efforts have not seemed to make the explosive appearance I was expecting.

The law is something many IU students must bear in mind.

Sadly, I don’t even remember coming across any chalk art publicizing the legislation on campus sidewalks.

The Indiana Lifeline Law will be there when things get out of hand, but we should be striving to prevent its use before that point.

Encouraging students to reduce the core dangers of drinking at college, such as surrounding oneself with strangers and a lack of alcohol education, should take us in the right direction in the years to come.

Decorating campus paths with Indiana Lifeline Law propaganda and making alcohol education programs in dormitories more useful would go a long way. These would be brilliant first steps students could take to make use of a tool few know is at their disposal.

­— edharo@indiana.edu
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Edgar Haro on Twitter
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