The DukeDrinking Debate

Note: All of the following information on the Duke Drinking Debate and more can be found at www.dukedrinking.com

In an unforgiving and oftentimes hostile world that deifies possession, economic hierarchy is marked by access to resource. As such, scarcity, as a factor of social control, defines me as an outsider; a de-valued exile in an ethos of monetarily ascribed worth. Simply, the quantifiable value of ownership is articulated not in the merits of the game but rather in the robustness of the conquest. Consequently, the defining principles of “self” are articulated, not in the humanity of one’s spirit but rather in the quantification of one’s property. Thusly, access to material assets suggests a collective social, perhaps normalizing notion of human value. And as this access to material assets continues over time, society simply comes to see “difference” as innate, not merely a politicized construction on human worth. In this chattelled world of ownership, civilization is defined by the assertion of power by the labored collection of one’s resources, and actions towards access following this are attempts to maintain or change the balance of power within civilization, therefore maintaining or changing the hierarchy itself.

In this glorification of prestige over actual content, groups struggle to rise above their peers. This competitive situation is evident in modern day American collegiate education, where colleges compete for estimation amidst the rest of their peers. This common goal is arbitrarily defined by society, mostly popularly demonstrated in U.S. News and World Report’s Annual College Rankings. Each year, select colleges compete for the coveted top spot in the rankings, the chance to be known as America’s most prestigious college. Duke University, my college, ranked eighth. For Duke, it was a regression from the university’s conscious goal: to be number one. It is still a new goal, for while perennial rankings giants like Harvard and Princeton have been competing for literally hundreds of years, Duke is still quite new to the game It was only in the 1970s when the administration of Duke President Terry Sanford decided to implement various dramatic changes to the University in hopes of propelling it to the forefront of American collegiate education. During President Sanford’s tenure, he helped open the Fuqua School of Business, complete the Perkins Library, found the Institute for Policy, and build the Duke University Hospital. In creating so many state-of-the-art additions, President Sanford believed it would attract the students necessary for the University to compete. And as history appears, he was correct. Duke went from being known as another private Southern school to being known as one of the most prestigious schools across the nation. However, President Sanford’s goal was not to merely be one of the best, but rather the best itself. Since the recent regression in the rankings, there has been pressure from within and without the University to reexamine itself, and deduce what is holding Duke back in order to allow the University to move forward and stay competitive. Among all the possible points of discussion, this publication will examine the nature of drinking and its academic repercussions at Duke.

The top 50 schools in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings all condone legal alcohol use, yet the level of use differs from college to college. One way to gauge the potential for alcohol use is by examining the number of fraternities and sororities on campus. According to a survey completed by The Journal of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, the average member of a fraternity or sorority consistently drinks more than an average non-member throughout all four years of college, including a higher rate of binge-drinking, or drinking excessively. Along with that, the American Journal of Public Health considers residence in a fraternity or sorority to be one of the biggest predictors of binge drinking. If this is true, then a college with a greater number of fraternities and sororities would have more students drinking, which then increases the proportion of students drinking at the university. Within the top 50 of U.S. News and World Report’s rankings, Florida, number 47, has 41 registered fraternities and sororities. Harvard, number two, has zero. Duke falls in between these two, yet appears similar to Florida in this matter, with 36 registered fraternities and sororities. In comparison to Harvard, Duke has more fraternities and sororities. Therefore, based on the findings of The Journal of Psychology and Addictive Behaviors and The American Journal of Public Health, Duke would have a potentially higher number of students drinking alcohol. While this is a difference in culture quality between the two institutions, this cultural divergence has come to be the crux of the debate.

The debate on the influence of alcohol at Duke is between two separate schools of thought. One side argues that drinking currently has a negative effect on Duke academically. They point out that Duke, as shown earlier in the paper, has a high proportion of the student population that drinks. While to those in favor of campus drinking allege that it is just a part of the culture, those against alcohol use allege that alcohol has serious repercussions for Duke’s prestige. They maintain that alcohol first has a negative effect on academic performance. According to a study presented by The Journal of Studies on Alcohol, students who binge drink, consuming 5 or more standard drinks in one night, have lower G.P.A.’s than students who do not binge drink. Opponents conclude that if students who binge drink are less likely to do well in school than students who do not binge drink, students who binge drink are then more likely to lower the average academic performance of the college. This would then place a college with a high level of student binge drinking at an academic disadvantage in comparison to a college that does not have as many students drinking. Those against drinking at Duke argue that this is the situation Duke has fallen into. They then go on, concluding that the disadvantages from campus drinking are then reflected in the rankings, greatly hurt a competitive university like Duke. From this, opponents conclude that alcohol is having a negative effect on academics.

The other side of the debate, those against limiting alcohol use, completely disagrees with the assertion above. They allege that drinking is a part of the campus culture and does not take away from Duke’s academic reputation. The group which supports drinking points out that drinking at Duke is not a recent phenomenon. This indeed is true, as the Duke University Medical Center reports that rates of alcohol use at the university have been higher in the past than they have been before. Proponents of the drinking culture then mention that even with high alcohol use in the past the university still experienced rapid rise in the rankings. They then conclude that if drinking has been a presence on campus in the past, and the university still grew with it, that it cannot be a negative factor in the academic reputation of the university.

In actuality, the conclusions drawn by both sides are false. Those who oppose drinking on campus allege that alcohol use at Duke is greater with respect to colleges with whom Duke hopes to compete. They then point out that binge drinking has a negative effect on academics, hastily drawing the conclusion that alcohol is greatly diminishing Duke’s academic potential. While the first two assertions are true, they are not related. Just because students are drinking does not necessarily mean students are binge drinking. In actuality, drinking in general does not have to be binge drinking, and in fact can be a tasteful, enjoyable part of the campus culture here at Duke. Therefore, drinking is not the direct cause of Duke’s recent academic suffering. However, the other side of the debate is equally wrong as well. Those who support drinking on campus allege that drinking has been a part of Duke’s culture in the past, which is true. They also allege that Duke experienced growth along with having drinking be a part of the university, which is also true. Yet, what they fail to recognize is that Duke’s main goal is to be the number one school in the country. While Duke has had campus drinking in the past as well as major growth in the past, Duke has never been the number one college in the country. And while they can argue that just because Duke has never been number one in the country does not mean it cannot happen, they also cannot prove that it necessarily will happen either. This gap in their logic prevents any sort of conclusion that alcohol does not have an effect on academic performance here at Duke. Both sides, while arguing opposite ends of the argument, both turn out to be wrong.

What is most unfortunate about the current situation of the argument is while both sides seem so contrary; they fail to recognize their common goal. Both groups want what is best for the University. Those opposed to drinking do not want the University to regress, and neither do those who support drinking either. They indeed both share a common goal, yet neither of their means of reaching this goal will cause any resolution. If one side were to “win” the argument and implement its own agenda for Duke, it would mean that the other’s agenda would be not be implemented, meaning one or the other would still be unsatisfied even after the resolution of the controversy. And if one side is still unsatisfied after a resolution, then there indeed was not any true resolution to the argument after all. This status, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is a “negative peace.” A negative peace recognizes that although there is no exterior conflict, the controversy still exists. And if the goal of the argument is to have resolution, neither side to the argument can lead to it. Therefore, a third option must be implemented in order to bring resolution to the conflict.

In order to bring resolution to the conflict, I believe it must be refocused, with drinking not as the cause of the argument, but rather a side effect of other issues affecting the university. In order to do so, one must first recognize both what is causing the recent academic stress at Duke as well as the culture of drinking here. Regarding drinking, why is it that binge drinking is so prominent here at the university? Is it because of a lack of non-drinking activities? Could it also be related to the lack of an engaging city nearby? Perhaps the reason why students are so tempted to drink is because the other options located on and off campus fail to entertain them. Furthermore, the lack of other recreational options on and off campus encourages students to engage in high risk drinking, puttering the University at a risk academically. Binge-drinking and its relationship to academics at Duke is simply a symptom of greater problems. And in addressing all possible greater issues, which may or may not be possible, Duke may finally end this fractious symptom.

The Beginning of the Blog!

My Much Appreciated Readers,

Welcome to my blog! The topic of this blog is one that has generated alot of controversy in the past few months: alcohol. Ever since the Duke Lacrosse incident, there has been pressure from within and outside the University to reexamine the influence alcohol has here at Duke. In fact, the Campus Culture Initiative, a program headed by Dean of Trinity College here at Duke, Robert Thompson, is designed to do just that. This blog in particular will examine the academic effects of drinking on the University and their influence on University prestige.

Before I dive into the phenomenon known as Drinking at Duke, I'd like to pose a few questions for you all (my readers).

1) Do you yourself drink?
2) Does drinking have benefits? Does drinking have setbacks?
3) What is college drinking like?
4) What are college academics like?
5) What does a University value more, culture or curriculars?

Feel free to discuss these or leave comments of your own.

Thank you,
V.U.

Introduction to the Prelude to the Blog

Hello all 13 readers of my blog thus far (classmates & Dr. Hammer),

This is my blog. Before I get serious with this, I want to make sure I have all my stuff straight. That's right, I used "stuff" for my Writing 20. Take that, "Rise of the Victorian Actress."

Sincerely,
Vivek Upadhyay