Monday, March 27, 2006

UWO student drinking in the Northwestern

The paper ran this story this morning--a discussion of the issue of drinking on the UWO campus. It was basically an interview with Petra Roter about how the university was dealing with the issue.

It was a very positive, though misleading, article about what goes on here on campus. If things were only as good as Petra hopes they would be.

I wonder if UWO is worse than other campuses within the system and across the country. Clearly, our students are proud of their drinking (just look at facebook). Many students, however, are non-traditional ones and are burdened with family life and work. They just may not have the time to go out of control.


Oshkosh Northwestern - University attacks problem drinking from several angles

2 comments:

Janine said...

As a mom of an daughter planning on attending UW-O next year, I was very surprised to see that there was a drug/alcohol abstinance program on campus. When a student checks that they will abstain from either and signs the contract, they are paired with a roommate who has made the same commitment.

I do have to agree with Petra -- there is a change on campus. When I went to school, and lived in the dorms, in 1986-1987 there was no one talking about there being an alternative to drinking. In the campus tours, literature to the incoming students, and interviews with students on campus there is at least a dialogue about the effects and pressures to drink. Yes, this is a small step but it is a step in the right direction nevertheless. Change sometimes happens very, very, slowly.

Lake Winneblogo said...

Janine,

thanks for the interesting information. I too am glad to hear that such a program exists on campus.

Let us hope that a broader dialogue will lead to a more sober and deliberative atmosphere.