We at W2FY recently found out about some new changes to the TU alcohol policy. Since we figured this is probably an important thing to know, and since the Daily sucks, we figured we’d report it yo ya’ll. Resident policy expert Deltron is doing this in two parts–one to familiarize all ya’ll with the policy, and the next one to describe what exactly this means for you drinking on campus.
Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS); the acronym has gone from noun to verb at TU, where approximately 100 times during the academic year students have drunk themselves into an expensive ambulance ride and disciplinary probation—or maybe just need a little extra attention and someone to hold back their hair while they empty their swallowed troubles into a porcelain bowl.
But this distinction is important and the line between seriously fucked up and oh-my-God this person could actually die, is easily blurred when the judge is also fucked up, at a party where everyone is, generally, quite fucked up. Thus the vicious but inevitable and predictable cycle that is drinking: the more you have, the less likely you are to realize how much you’ve had, how much others have had, and so dwindle simultaneously your powers of judgment and perception of severity in a given situation.
Let’s put it to the case then, your buddy is in such a situation. You’re both under 21, bros in a frat, partying with broskis in the middle of the semester. But the pregame to the pregame was much more well stocked than you expected and by the time you get there, you can tell he’s in for a long night. You’re a good friend; you keep an eye on him, see the telltale signs of pre-spew and reluctantly lead him to the bathroom. There, he regurgitates both pregames and dinner, but doesn’t stop. Soon he’s throwing up nothing at all and he can’t keep himself from falling flat on the ground.
And here, TU alcohol policy dictates that if you do the right thing for your friend, you’ll both end up on probation. For him this means his parents are going to find out, he’s going to have to pay for that ambulance ride, and his participation in student activities is in jeopardy. In the real world, i.e. outside of college, he’s probably just going to wake up with a hell of a headache… or not wake up.
The policy is crap, but it’s necessary crap for as long as the drinking age remains, unnecessarily, at 21. Yes, students end up facing harsh consequences for doing what may indeed be the right thing to do, but when the right thing is preceded by an endless string of wrong things, it negates the ultra-virtuous behavior of patting your pal on the back and asking if he’s okay. A good friend understands that his puking partner may be responsible for what he did, but is it really so hard to suggest that he’s had enough when he’s clearly had enough?
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