The Modern Perspective

Today, in 2017, the Ursinus College administration openly embraces the inevitable presence of alcohol in a student's social life. The Ursinus administration's modern approach to alcohol policy on the campus is no longer to enforce values and systems restrict freedom to drink or threaten students who choose to drink, but rather to encourage a community-wide feeling of self-responsibility and self-accountability. The administration no longer chooses to antagonize alcohol, and instead treats students who do drink with a sense of confidence that they will drink safely and responsibly.

On September 27th, 2017, an email was sent to all UC students inviting them to a beer festival in Philadelphia. While students over 21 are obviously invited and permitted to drink however they please, students below the legal drinking age were still invited and welcomed.

This is evident of a drastic change in how the administration views the Ursinus College student body, as well as a significant growth in the confidence that the administration has in its students to drink alcohol responsibly.

The Ursinus College Peer Advocates have also made the distinct decision to tie alcohol education to safe sex education, which is revolutionary in comparison to the approaches the administration took to educating students on both topics 30 years ago.

The Ursinus community has been able to give a face to the supporters of healthy, safe alcohol usage with organizations like the Peer Advocates, who take an approach of positively reinforcing healthy practices that ensure a student’s safety when they are under the influence of alcohol.