At First-Year Family Weekend two weeks ago, my normally teetotaler friend escorted his Danish relative to one of the Dartmouth frats to show her the archetypical American college drinking scene. The next day, she recounted her observation of the malodor, sticky floor, cheap beer and, most pointedly, students drinking copiously just to get drunk. Her accurate appraisal prompted me to reconsider the convivial and fun-seeking attributes that we typically associate with drinking on campus.
Binge drinking is a common feature of campus nightlife. "Good Sam" is as well-incorporated in our campus lexicon as "blitz" and "fro-yo." Yet our intense drinking scene is certainly not an isolated anomaly. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, almost 40 percent of college students engage in binge drinking. The College is fortunate to have been spared from needless alcohol-related deaths in recent memory, but high-risk drinking remains a looming threat across American college campuses. In response to these concerns, a new effort is underway to combat alcohol abuse among college students, initiated by none other than Dartmouth herself.
Last week, amid the headline-stealing coverage of the royal wedding and the death of Osama bin Laden, the College announced a nationwide initiative called the Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking, the inaugural effort of the National College Health Improvement Project. The Collaborative's mission, according to its website, is to "improve student health at colleges and universities through the application of population health solutions." Currently, the Collaborative includes 14 schools that will each put together a team of students, faculty and administrators to participate in discussions of new ideas and approaches to alcohol harm reduction via conference call every month.
I applaud the initiative. Dartmouth may be obsessed with tradition, but high-risk drinking is one longstanding habit that we can all do without. College President Jim Yong Kim, with his background in medical anthropology and vast professional connections, is the ideal person to spearhead the Collaborative.
Dartmouth in light of its cultural infamy as a hard-drinking school is the ideal place for its implementation. The national effort, if broadcast correctly, will also bring a measure of public recognition not only for the College, but also for The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.
Yet my hopes are not without reservations. Kim probably devoted much effort to getting the Collaborative off the ground, but the question remains whether he will be able to juggle all of his responsibilities. Although his long-term efforts to combat high-risk drinking are admirable, he is, first and foremost, the president of this college. Considering the criticisms leveled against Parkhurst's lack of transparency and receptiveness to student input, Kim must not divert valuable time and resources required to fulfill his original duties in favor of an effort that is largely supplementary to the workings of the College.
In fact, the success of the Collaborative's policies will largely depend on the students' collective efforts to change their behavior solutions that are transplanted from other settings will only take root if students are willing to embrace them. Therefore substantial student input is needed and must be heeded in future decisions about alcohol policy.
The Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking has great potential to better not only the College, but also universities throughout the country. Yet we must keep some facts straight. This initiative is an extension of the College, and Kim must be, for now, Dartmouth's president, not a national health policy maker. Especially considering our current trend of fiscal austerity, Kim's most important policies must first directly ensure the well-being of the College's own students.
