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This is probably only tenuously connected to the original posting but the drinking issue always seems so damned emotive that its hard to discuss it calmly.
I am of two minds on the drinking question. On the one hand it seems sensible to me that underage drinking is not legal and ought to be strictly regulated. On the other hand, if one is old enough to vote and to serve in the Army it seems to me that maybe they have the age question wrong and the various state legislatures should address this. I understand Louisiana had legal drinking age set at 18 for many years and is considering returning to that.
To me, binge drinking is a crock. What is the point of drinking until you are so rat arsed wasted that you you make an drooling idiot of yourself and become a pain to everyone else. In my house we were told that a man who could not hold his liquor was not a gentleman and that either learn to hold it or lay off of it. Most of us were from the South and had been taught about drinking by our parents at home. So it was really no big deal to us but rather something to be enjoyed rather than being greedily slurped down like a slob turned loose in a donut factory.
As a side note, some guys we were seriously considering bidding didn't make the cut as they couldn't hold it and wouldn't take the hint to lay off. (No, we didn't feed them any at the house, but there were endless opportunities to observe at bars, parties, etc that were not connected to rush). Some of the brothers also "had words put on them" that they had better lighten up. We had what you might call a "prime directive" which was summed up as 'Do what you want, but take absolute personal responsibility for what you do'. We were usually considered on the wild side but we took the responsibility thing damned seriously.
Sorry to be going on and on about this, but I think we need to be a whole lot less PC about this and a whole lot more responsible for our and our chapters actions. My own personal rules on the subject are, I am of legal age, I like a good drink, and I like to party, but, if I am drinking then I am not driving. If its my night to be the designated dry guy then its Cola or coffee. If someone is showing signs of taking on a little too much fuel I'll drive him and his date home. If he wanted to be a jerk about it, well, I was 6'2" of (sober) rower and rugby guy and there were always a few of us who were the designated drys. As a law student I am a bit removed from the day to day activities, but I don't think things have changed to any appreciable extent. Let me end this and give someone else a chance at the pulpit.
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