In Defense of Drink

by Barrett Thornhill

The Trustees' vision of Dartmouth's future is less novel than naïve. After their recent visit to campus last weekend, it seems more obvious than ever that their continued travail over the five principles is devoted to ignoring the voice of the student body and alumni, subverting the work of the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council, and persisting in their autocratic ways.

The Trustees seek to “redefine” the social life on campus. But they are making a grave error by orchestrating a metamorphosis that Ovid himself would renounce. The worst of it is that the Trustees are speeding towards a utopian dream without truly understanding the current situation. Neither the inhabitants of Parkhurst nor the newly-charged Trustees grasp a central element of the present social system: alcohol.

The Trustees' plan, to be sure, will flop. They have miscalculated the profound importance of drinking in Dartmouth's social life and the deleterious consequences their plan will have on social relations.

The Trustees are attempting to devise a solution without first examining the actual problem. It's a common mistake these days. Tireless gun control advocates, for example, repeatedly debate child locks, waiting periods, background checks, banning assault rifles, and limits on magazine capacity—they've passed volumes of legislation. But recent tragedies have shown that these laws have had little impact.

What the anti-gun activists do not realize is that writing new laws cannot solve the problem associated with guns, because the problem does not reside in guns. The problem is in our society, and gun violence is simply an expression of that.

Attractive laws on paper often lose their sparkle in practice. The new laws have little impact, so politicians pass even more laws. This cycle will continue, of course, until the total abolition of gun ownership (that's why defenders of the Second Amendment fight every new initiative—each one is a step toward totalitarianism). But even when there isn't a gun anywhere, the violence will not end. Constructive uses of firearms will be lost, and we will accomplish nothing.

Similarly, the Trustees will tinker with our social system, which they do not grasp in the slightest; the alleged “problem” that they are seeking to fix will stay. It will stay because it is firmly rooted not in fraternity basements, but in our society.

At the same time, the “problem” that they are bustling over isn't much of a problem at all. The Trustees and their comrades want to stop drinking on campus. What's really wrong is that they cannot comprehend that drinking is deeply imbedded in our society.

Drinking is an integral part of most cultures, including ours. Many scholars—anthropologists, social psychologists, biologists, ethnographers, and archaeologists—realize the cultural importance of drinking behavior and have long studied the role of drink in order to learn more about societies at large.

Most cultures surround alcohol consumption with ritual. Drinking behavior is almost universally organized by cultural rules and expectations, including and quantity and kind of drink, rate of consumption, time and mood of drinking events and age and sex of drinkers. Drinking is woven into the social fabric of most cultures—from the Chagga tribe of Tanzania, to the Siriono of Bolivia, to the students at Dartmouth College.

“Drinking has a common function of promoting social solidarity through its role in facilitating social interaction in the context of informal gatherings,” writes Michael Dietler, Professor of Anthropology at Yale University. The institution and etiquette of hospitality, of which alcohol is a pivotal feature, is a strong binding force within a community. It promotes social cohesion by establishing a close relationship between guests and host. The Iteso of East Africa, for example, define neighbors as “people with whom one shares a beer.”

“The cultural definition of alcohol as a liquid which develops and sustains personal and solidary human relationships is significant in cueing occasions,” writes Professor of Anthropology Joseph R. Gusfield in a University of Pennsylvania publication. “The drinking occasion is a contrast to the rational and hierarchical attitudes of persons as dramatic actors and actresses; as players of roles. In the drinking arena first names are required and organizational placements tabooes.”

It is curious, however, that in America drinking customs have acquired a rather sinful reputation—in contrast to most industrial societies. Any traveler of Europe can attest to the significant role alcohol plays in channeling the flow of most cultures' social energy. But in the States, drinking has picked up conflicting points of ambivalence and tension. From the Women's Christian Temperance Union to the Prohibition Party to the Trustees of Dartmouth College, crusaders have demonized social drinking. These groups have, or will, fail. As Gusfield notes, “Release from social controls cannot be a moderated, regulated and controlled affair. Once Pandora opens her box, the spirits that flow out from it cannot captured and encaged.”

Fraternity members donate their own money to sponsor parties, open to all Dartmouth students, in the name of hospitality and community. The college sponsors events, also with our money, but no one shows up. That is the difference. The college attempts to build a sense of community, but they fail to do so. The Greek system is the force for community on campus, a unifying force that supports social relations at the College.

The Greek system may not be perfect, but it is the result of natural social interests—especially those of college students. Dartmouth enjoys such a high satisfaction rate because of the convivality and openness that the Greek system promotes. Working with the system, supporting it, and not trying to sap its strength is the way to make things better. Trustees, take heed.