Stanford Creates Their Own Prohibition

Drinking culture is perceived to not only be a part of college culture, but to be integral to it. There are supposed to be large, raucous parties filled with underage drinking and generally bad decisions. Stanford is looking to change that with a certain stipulation in their drinking policy. This comes after the incredibly divisive and publicized incident in which Brock Turner was convicted of rape and granted a sentence lighter than many people believed it should be, even going as far as creating a petition to have Aaron Persky, the judge for the case, removed from the bench. The reason for this new rule comes from the idea that victims in sexual assault cases on college campuses do not receive the right attitude because of drinking culture. With drinking surrounding so many ideas of college, Stanford is trying to change the way in which students interact with alcohol.

The rule is not an outright ban on alcohol, something that would cause much more trouble for a college with an already established drinking culture. Instead, it restricts undergrads from consuming and possessing hard liquor, whether in mixed drinks or taken as shots. Students who are of age would still be able to drink, but solely wine and beer, according to Stanford. Curiously, they do not comment on other separate types of alcohol and where they would fall, such as malt liquor or high percentage beer. There will most likely be students attempting to find where the rules allow for higher percentage alcohol that are not considered hard liquor. This rule will somewhat apply to graduates, as they will be allowed to possess liquor at school events and within their areas of residence. While this may seem like something impossible to monitor, the school is more concerned with drinking culture and the way in which it allows for leniency on rape culture.

Image via Wikipedia/ President John L Hennessy of Stanford