Dear Editor,
While sitting in the doctor’s office today [Monday] at the Martha Morehouse Pavillion, I happened upon the article written by Brad Miller in today’s Lantern (Sept. 20, 2010).
I believe an opinion should only be shared in mass media when it is written to be of value to people, or in this case to benefit the reader. I can find nothing of value in the “opinion” shared by your writer (Brad Miller) to the more than 60,000 OSU students. I would be thrilled to know that you, the editor, don’t consider his “opinion” of value, but mistakenly printed an article that is a clear detriment to prospective graduates. Especially to freshmen, who are extremely impressionable.
What makes me cringe is the writer’s selfish approach to taking “the edge off in the first couple nights and get to know your roommates.” He actually encourages students to drink to the point of vomiting — “… don’t feel like you have to be shy. … Holding someone’s hair back … is a great team-building exercise.” He doesn’t encourage girls to join a sorority but speaks about fraternities as the “lead to future invitations down the road.” I guess it’s the fact that fraternities “provide free beer early in the year,” as written by Brad.
If Brad practices what he preaches, his encouragement to drink as a “team-building exercise” and to join a fraternity because they provide free beer will likely be his demise. Encouraging new students to “not underestimate the power of alcohol” as a positive is criminal.
Alcohol abuse can lead to death. Death can be instant — especially if people take his advise and “don’t be shy” from drinking with the 337 people in the group on a night out; it can lead to depression, which can lead to suicide, and it can lead to long-term abuse and ailment as an adult.
The next time you both hear of a college student who has been harmed, in any way, due to alcohol consumption, remember your words: “do not underestimate the power of alcohol. Don’t feel like you have to be shy.”