LETTER: In Defense of Amnesty and Education

To the editors:

In his Mar. 10 editorial comment, “Work Hard, then Take Shots,” Peter L. Knudson’s direction of ire towards Harvard’s alcohol education policies is misguided at best and pernicious at worst. First of all, his sophomoric assessment that “DAPA can preach until they are blue in the face” runs counter to the organization’s reputation. Although AlcoholEDU is tedious, it serves as an introduction to healthy drinking habits for the many freshman teetotalers entering Harvard. Mr. Knudson argues that harsh penalties would better control binge drinking, but he is looking myopically at the short term. What happens to students who live in a world of draconian punishments for binge drinking after they graduate from college? They may well resort to the bottle when times get tough. DAPA and AlcoholEDU instill safe drinking habits in students, lessons that last well beyond college.

The article’s attack on our alcohol programs was juvenile, but its attack on UHS’s amnesty policy was downright illogical. Mr. Knudson repeatedly invokes the 43 percent rise in UHS admissions since 2005 as overwhelmingly definitive proof of his argument. Yet in the Feb. 17 Crimson article upon which Mr. Knudson based his work, both Ryan Travia of Alcohol and Drug Services and Paul J. Barreira of Behavioral Health and Academic Counseling stated that given the statistics, the causes of the increase in hospitalizations are unclear. Does Mr. Knudson have special knowledge that would lead him to a conclusion contradicting two experts whose jobs are to be knowledgeable about this very issue?

I will not claim that binge drinking is a good thing. Yet as Mr. Barreiera said in the Feb. 17 article, some students binge drink because of mental health issues, stress, or other concerns that have nothing to do with regulations. Were the College and UHS to reverse course and end amnesty or education programs in favor of harsher penalties, they would deprive those students most in need of vital services and discourage them from seeking assistance. What Mr. Knudson’s article fails to see is that an increase in the number of students admitted to UHS is infinitely preferable to a single student suffering catastrophic injury or death from fear of punishment from UHS.

KIRAN N. BHAT ’10

Cambridge, Mass.

Mar. 10, 2010

Kiran N. Bhat ’10 is a government concentrator in Kirkland House.