As part of the Wisconsin Alumni Association's first-year parents weekend, UW-Madison Psychology Professor Kevin Strang presented The Science of Alcohol"" on Friday. After his presentation, which emphasized education on alcohol-related issues rather than a simply vilifying drinking altogether, many parents responded positively to a suggested mandate of a drinking education course for all incoming students.
According to Strang, the course itself is not entirely new to the university, either. Several years ago, such a course was offered as an interdisciplinary Letters & Sciences course that sought to educate students in various facets of drinking culture, from the possible scientific effects of drinking before the brain is fully developed to the strategies employed in alcohol advertising.
In an age where UW's drinking culture is frequently under scrutiny and underage students are bombarded by a horde of messages warning them not to drink, many simply ignore the issue altogether. Unfortunately, this leads to a general body of students participating in potentially dangerous activities without proper education on moderation or the effects of binge drinking. Though offering such a course and mandating it may not solve the problem of underage drinking altogether, it would serve as a proactive measure to counter a generally uninformed drinking culture that many students subscribe to.
Furthermore, mandating such a course would not disrupt progress toward graduation. Offering a course that deals with both the scientific and social climate of drinking would offer all students an opportunity to fulfill general education requirements while presenting information that is both useful and applicable to their everyday life as opposed to a random class scheduled solely to fulfill necessary graduation requirements.
If coalitions such as UW Health's All Wisconsin Alcohol Risk Education group are any indication, UW-Madison is serious about the drinking culture on campus. Getting administration on board and enacting policy that both revives such a course and makes it mandatory for all incoming students is one of the most practical, straightforward ways to address an issue surrounded by negative press with few viable solutions available.
The drinking culture at UW-Madison will never go away. However, for a university that will soon offer fermentation courses sponsored by MillerCoors, education of the effects of consuming these products should be a no brainer.
