Messiah College -Rubbing Alcohol the Wrong Way?

We are young, we are impressionable, we are reckless? We are akin to 1920's prohibition: "Speakeasies" bootlegging up the hoo-haa's of Messiah's Campus. We are the Underground Railroad for moonshine guzzling and penetrating the covenant's seal. We are elitist, pseudo-Satanist, and perhaps even masochists (we eat in lottie after all). We are labeled all because of the lust and allure of the fermented grape, pressed hops, condensed sugar cane, and the distilled potato. We are adults floating inside an institutionalized bubble. We bounce off the walls along with the same prescribed jargon circulating the "Chrisitan Church Scene". We are carrying a "cross" that no longer has significance or reason. And should we mess up, should we be in the presence of the holy spirit, we are discarded like lepers. We are in George Orwell's Novel, 1984: Big Brother is watching us. And it is true. Messiah College is watching us.

That watch extends far beyond the public safety vehicles' patrolling parking lots and preying on unlucky, intoxicated victims. It extends beyond the R.A.'s dogmatic instruction to put his or her ear to the door of residents' dorm rooms and apartments in anticipation of loud upheaval. As if those doors whisper "We have alcohol in here, come save me." It extends beyond Abe Lincoln's "ability to add or detract" or having one's case appealed to the peer review board.

I am not undermining the worth of Public Safety or Resident Asisitants. Public Safety has successfully protected us from bears and masked menaces. Nor am I denying the R.A.s' abilities to aid us in our toilet-paper rationing emergencies; they do their job. It even extends beyond the School Covenant which acts like the Ark in its curtain-shielded glory. However, as I recall, that curtain split in two before a certain resurrection occurred.

We, in hindsight, are either Christians at the hand of misconstrued legalism and private funding or followers of the Book of Mormon.
Nowhere in the Bible, regardless of the version, does it state that Christians should not drink. If we as believers are to follow Christ's Example, we would find ourselves attending parties and drinking wine. That was the culture, those were the times. In the same vein, this is the culture, these are our times: to experience and partake in social and responsible drinking.

It is very normal for adults in our culture to consume alcohol. The U.S does not have the same reputation as France for producing exceptional wine, nor Germany for it's refined beer, but it does have an entire night-life scene directly revolving around alcohol. It is no longer the norm to just limit social encounters to coffee and catch up with friends. However, Messiah's Campus is limited in it social beverage. So we find ourselves saying, "Hey lets grab a cup of coffee," more often than not. That is not to say non-alcoholic beverages are antiquated once we turn 21.

Even though dating, especially through online mediums such as match.com, constantly meet for drinks rather than dinner. "Getting a drink", has become a social norm. It is not used as a means to get drunk. It merely serves the purpose of drinking moderately while conversing or "communing".

However, I am not, in any way, excusing drunkenness and crude behavior. I ask for lawfulness and for persons of 21 years or older to be allowed to exercise the right to drink off campus.

The 2002-2003 members of SGA proposed to change Messiah College's alcohol policy and implement a revised policy constructed solely from the Student Forum. The policy was considered and reviewed by the college's board of trustees but ultimately rejected.

The writer of the proposal, Jason Hobbes, a 2005 graduate and 2003 member of the peer review board, said, "It was to be expected. It was clearly political. A change like this would upset a lot of alumni and hurt Messiah's funding."

The result rejected the idea to allow 21-year-olds to drink off campus, but caused the college to modify the policy to a more precise criterion. "Messiah ended up making the policy more specific like we proposed, however, it also made it more strict, which is not what we intended," Hobbes stated.

The fact is, sobriety is not "biblically mandated" as it is stated in Gordon College's student handbook:
"Members of the Gordon community will neither possess nor use alcoholic beverages on campus, on adjacent properties or while attending College-related events (see page 53). While it is recognized that abstinence is not biblically mandated, members of this community are encouraged, for reasons cited above, to consider abstinence as a personal practice."

Other Christian colleges, like Geneva and Wheaton, only prohibit alcohol consumption on campus, though they ultimately encourage abstinence. So why will Messiah College not adopt the same policies? According to Hobbes, the clear answer in the past was due to alumni funding.
However, does that mean that the students feel the same way? A survey in 2003 proves that Messiah's student body desires the change. The poll for the 2002-2003 upperclassmen showed that 57% of the 315 students wanted to change the policy and 67% admitted anonymously to consuming alcohol.



In the same vein, I propose a second (third, fourth, and perhaps even seventy times seven) look at the alcohol policy at Messiah College.
I ask that SGA re-survey the student body, and the board of trustees consider our rights as young adults in society. Though I agree with keeping the campus dry to ensure safety, I hope that we, the student body, can enjoy alcohol, without abuse, in the same way that Jesus Christ practiced.

For better or for worse, alcohol is apart of our culture. To practice total abstinance is to unecessarily limit ourselves in the fruits of the spirit.

Visit http://www.messiah.edu/alcohol_policy/SGAAlcoholPolicyProposal.pdf for more information about the "Student Government Association Proposal to Change Messiah College's Alcohol Policy".