If you’re a UIUC student, you received the mass e-mail sent out by the Chancellor this afternoon regarding Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, which starts tomorrow morning. Below are some excerpts from the letter:
“While we know that the majority of students do not participate
in “Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day” activities, the students who do
participate warrant my writing. During Unofficial, the drunken demeanor of
many students endangers the lives and safety of participants and community
members and blemishes the reputation of the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding communities.
We urge all students to take pride in our University community. Start by
discouraging your out-of-town friends from coming onto campus to
participate in this event on Friday, February 29 for the day or the
weekend…Keep in mind the importance of your own health and safety, as well as the
health and safety of others, and remember, too, that inviting people from
off-campus to participate in this event only encourages the possibility of
more health- and safety-related problems. And finally, don’t drink and
drive or ride with someone who has been drinking, and obey traffic laws
even when walking.”
Thanks for the advice, Dad, but who do you think you’re fooling? It’s obvious that anything the University does besides threatening punishment for drunk students coming to class is strictly a PR move to save their asses, and the fact that it lands in my inbox makes it harder to ignore.
Take a look at the first week back at school each fall - every frat is open, seducing new members with their free beer and houses packed with decent looking girls who are only there for the aforementioned beverages. The amount of people out drinking is comparable if not practically the same as on Unofficial, but where’s my “stay safe and be healthy” email from Herman to preface the welcome week binging? Why doesn’t he outwardly care every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night about the drunk drivers, obnoxious visitors and alcohol poisoned students? Just because the number of hospital visits stack up over a stretch of nights instead of on one day doesn’t mean its not happening.
Stop trying to thinly veil your fear that the public will know you can’t squash a drinking celebration, because in a town of newly minted 21-year-olds, you can’t. If you were really this concerned about the amount of alcohol students are drinking, you’d put a little effort in every day of the year, not just when you know Chicagoland news media are watching. And hey, while you’re at it, maybe we should try using mass e-mails for things like telling me about how two students were diagnosed with meningitis this week, instead of that tons more will drink beer while the sun is still up.
Carlye Wisel: if sarah silverman, stacy london, buster bluth and ari gold had a love child, it would be me.
Comments
Charlie (Charlie) says:
(Posted February 29th, 2008 at 1:09 pm)
Sing it sister.
Amanda (Amanda) says:
(Posted February 29th, 2008 at 6:29 pm)
I completely agree with this blog. How is it that I find out about meningitis through signs posted about how to prevent it? Nice try Chancellor…you’re clearly awesome
Austo-abobo. (Austo-abobo.) says:
(Posted March 11th, 2008 at 9:30 pm)
Well, whether he sends one for I-week or the first week of school or every weekend or whatever, it’s still a fundamentally flawed idea. The University consistently reacts to alcoholism on the premise that it’s a question of knowledge, which it’s not. “OH MY GOD. YOU’RE RIGHT. UNOFFICIAL IS IRRESPONSIBLE. THIS EMAIL HAS CHANGED MY ENTIRE OUTLOOK ON DRINKING.” If it was something the university cared about, they would make the ramifications tangible and practically felt.
The entirety of the University’s ability to respond to alcohol related policy violations is rhetoric. In Housing, there are no substantive “punishments” or anything of the kind; you’re given a quiz, some “info” about alcohol, and if you break the rules…oh…five, six, seven times, then you get moved off to…*gasp*….another building, where–call me crazy–I bet kids drink too.
You’re entirely correct; the university’s “concern” about alcohol is nothing but an empty token that excuses them from any responsibilities of actually making a difference.
Can't stand the chancellor either (Can't stand the chancellor either) says:
(Posted March 17th, 2008 at 9:19 am)
THANK YOU for saying what I’ve been feeling the last two years. I’ve found that his emails are getting more and more frequent and more and more spam-like. It’s really obnoxious that we cant block spam on our uiuc accounts because I would block him in a heart beat. I’m always just so annoyed by his emails.
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Carlye Wisel
if sarah silverman, stacy london, buster bluth and ari gold had a love child, it would be me.
Matt (Matt) says:
(Posted February 29th, 2008 at 1:04 am)
three students now i hear! don’t share cups tomorrow!