Let me begin by saying that the state of affairs has gone downhill at Tufts University. I will say it bluntly because I think it is important that every person who is reading this newspaper today fully understands the urgency of this matter. We are approaching a point of no return. Now is the time to act.
The University's current administration is choking the social life at Tufts to a dangerous point. The University's intentions are not malicious. In fact, it recognizes the very real dangers of being an American college student in the 21st century.
Drug abuses, date rape, lethal dosages of alcohol: All are very real and very obvious problems of today's youth.
However, the restrictions on the social scene are not the solution to the problem. If anything, they continue to inflame the problem.
Some may have heard the common phrase "what you resist persists."
This statement is a complete and succinct description of why the University's current policy is failing. As the University has cracked down on "late-night parties" and on the Greek system, the number of noise complaints in the Medford and Somerville neighborhoods has skyrocketed. The number of TEMS calls has increased over the years.
The fact of the matter is that, as college students, there will continue to be underage drinking at Tufts University.
The real question is whether or not the current administration wants drunken students wandering the streets with nowhere to go. Is this solving any problems? I do not think so.
It is time for the students at this University to act. We are a politically aware student body. It is time to focus.
What is going on around us? Let's think locally for a moment about the Greek system. All but two of the United States' presidents and two of the United States' vice presidents since 1825 were members of a fraternity.
85 percent of the Fortune 500 executives are Greek. 85 percent of Supreme Court Justices in the last century have been Greek.
You could look at similar statistics across many fields and they would lead you to one conclusion: The Greek system is important.
This is because strong social scenes on campus provide an incomparable way in which to learn how to socially interact.
Social skills are just as important as everything else we learn at school.
People travel out of state, across countries and overseas to attend this University. Here we are, isolated from the rest of the world in a place in which we focus on studies and make lifelong connections.
As college students, we have choices. We can succeed in our studies at any American university.
By doing so, we can grow up to work in cubicles. I chose to come to Tufts.
If we can succeed in our studies, all the while learning real-life social skills, we can be leaders.
Tufts University has the potential to make leaders out of all of us, and it has done so before. Let us all grow.
I challenge the administration to take initiative and start making some real changes. There are other ways to make this school safe without stifling social growth. Let's try a new route. President Bacow?
Ari Allen is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He is a brother in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.
