Since this is our last regular issue of The Chronicle until next fall, I would like to wish everyone a happy summer! Yet, before we scatter after our last final I would like to leave Quinnipiac with some food for thought.
I am not going to use this space to gripe and moan about the new changes in May Weekend. I live off campus, so most of them don’t even effect me.
I am grateful to SGA and SPB for working so hard to let us even have a May Weekend after all the damage that was caused last year.
Hopefully, everyone will try to make it a fun time. But I do have some concerns. Quinnipiac is not a dry campus, however the rules regarding alcohol for May Weekend may cause more damage that they are intended to prevent.
To many students, the Quinnipiac dorms are their homes. Threatened with being written up or kicked off campus if they are caught with alcohol, especially if they are a few months (or years) shy of being 21, it is reasonable to assume that many students will take their partying elsewhere.
Off campus housing, bars and clubs are all a fair distance away from Quinnipiac and require cars to get there.
But who wants to be left out of the fun of getting blasted on May Weekend? Some yes, but most are going take shots right along with their friends, regardless of who drives. And not many people are going to want to leave their cars in a bar parking lot to take a cab home.
I’m not sure this even may be the case, but it has given me some concern. If students are not allowed to drink in their “homes” they will go elsewhere and run a greater risk of driving home drunk. This not only endangers their lives, but anyone else who is out on the road with them.
I’m not advocating binge drinking, nor do I think Quinnipiac should encourage mass drunkenness. However, it will be May Weekend and people are going to consume alcohol. That is the way it has always been and the way it will continue to be.
Ultimately it is the responsibility of the student to control their drinking. We should not have to rely on Quinnipiac and it’s officials to control us. We are big boys and girls who should act like adults.
I know many people may not agree with me. Like everyone, I just want people to have a safe, fun weekend. I don’t want to come in Monday morning and write a story about someone who was irresponsible and drove off the side of the road.
So I am asking Quinnipiac officials, please don’t be too hard on those who are caught with alcohol, they could be on the road with your loved ones. And thank you again to all those who made May Weekend possible this year.