Dear Editor,
I am writing to you because I feel that the ban of alcohol at this year's Spring Fling is a flawed and outdated policy. As an alumnus of Tufts, I was proud to see that University President Lawrence Bacow was a signatory to the Amethyst Initiative. The initiative, according to their Web site, "supports informed and unimpeded debate on the 21-year-old drinking age. Amethyst Initiative presidents and chancellors call upon elected officials to weigh all the consequences of current alcohol policies and to invite new ideas on how best to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use." I was proud that Tufts was publicly at the forefront of exploring innovative ideas in protecting students from the dangers of binge drinking. I am now saddened to read that in practice Tufts is simply forging ahead with the same flawed and outdated policy that made this country's Prohibition experiment such a complete failure. A total alcohol ban is the antithesis of the new ideas that the Amethyst Initiative seeks. A ban is certainly the safe public relations move in light of last year's event. However, as last year proved, student health and safety is truly at stake. Perhaps this year public relations should take a backseat to a new policy that realistically addresses the fact that we are dealing with college students attending a four-hour concert.
Tufts' strength is its ability to draw on very courageous and intelligent people who possess an amazing ability to collectively solve difficult real-world problems. I now call on the President and other members of the Tufts administration to revisit this decision and to, at the very least, have an informed and debate on this matter. Hopefully, innovative and more successful policies can be freely explored and implemented in time for a safe concert.
Sincerely,
David McNally
Class of 1997
