To The Guilfordian:I was distressed on Monday morning, September 10, to hear from a steady stream of students that the weekend on campus had been marked, indeed, marred, by a number of disturbing events related to the use of alcohol and other drugs. No need to categorize the incidents; anyone on campus this weekend is probably aware of all that transpired – and of the students who nearly expired.

I doubt this inebriated exuberance was a response to the Quakers’ thrilling football win over Methodist Saturday, but if it were, it is certainly not honest to express such excess in honor of two abstemious traditions!

It was heartening to see the academic year begin with a renewed emphasis on student safety related to alcohol and other drugs. But clearly, even The Guilfordian’s front page announcement of the College’s program to increase alcohol awareness did little to stem the tide of self-medication. Sadly, experience teaches that where there is little internal discipline, outward discipline – however well-meaning and necessary – will do little to prevent repetitive self-abuse and abuse of others and one’s physical surroundings.

My years at Guilford also teach me that by midterms many will have learned lessons the hard way that will lead to more responsible behavior. Even more will develop healthier practices as four years at Guilford pass by. Unfortunately, it is also true that some won’t spend the full year at Guilford, let alone four years. The fall-out from this weekend has already claimed some “collateral damage.” More is surely to follow.

There should be nothing inevitable about such weekends at Guilford. We should not be shy about naming the inappropriateness, the unacceptability, of such behavior in an academic community founded on and guided by Quaker principles. We should not apologize either for external discipline in response to such a situation or for encouraging the internal disciplines that can lead to self-control and sobriety.

While some this weekend were providing grist for this response, others were attending a spiritual formation retreat at which Roman Catholic layman Ed Stivender encouraged students not to give up their “sovereignty” to the media, popular culture, or the forces of a materialistic culture. Inebriation is one of the quickest ways to surrender ones own sovereignty. Arguments that getting drunk or getting high is “all there is to do,” or that “that’s what college students do,” indicate that sovereignty has already been turned over to other forces.

Whether the argument against a repeat of this weekend is the utilitarian plea for self- and institutional preservation or the spiritual one of developing an inner discipline and maintaining ones sovereignty, I hope the pleas reach some receptive ears. But, please, don’t let it take years for campus culture to reflect a healthier, more appropriate environment for learning and self-actualization.

Max L. Carter