Recently, the Walgreens located in University Square featured a display with plastic cups and ping-pong balls located suspiciously close together. Although the products were packaged separately, a parent voiced concern to UW Dean of Students Lori Berquam, arguing the display condoned binge drinking, as plastic cups and ping pong balls are the main components of beer pong, a popular drinking game. Berquam called the establishment, and the manager quickly removed the display and has since taken full responsibility for the incident.
However, Rep. Kathleen Falk, D-Wis., who recently proposed a $250,000 budget toward curbing alcoholism in the state of Wisconsin, has thrust this somewhat small incident into the limelight through public criticism.
While Berquam's response to the matter is understandable, the need for Kathleen Falk to get involved seems highly unnecessary. Walgreens does not sell alcohol or liquor, so the need to come down so hard on a company just trying to sell what its customers want seems unjust. Yes, this particuar Walgreens is located near University Housing dorms, which is a predominantly under-21 crowd, and therefore should not fully condone a drinking game that is illegal for a majority of its customers.
Illegal drinking, however, is a two-way street, and simply supplying young college students with plastic cups and ping pong balls is not enough.
For Falk to publicly denounce the display seems unwarranted. In the great sea of drinking establishments in Wisconsin, Walgreens is a very small fish. It would be in the best interest of Falk and her $250,000 budget proposal to go after bars or liquor stores where under-age, binging and excessive drinking are more prevalent, and focus on how to change the current state of alcoholism as a tradition in Wisconsin's culture.
