Before the official start of the semester, the incoming freshmen move into their dorms a week early to attend their orientation, which lasts for a couple of days. After the end of the official activities planned out for the final day, the upperclassmen take the freshmen out for a celebratory night of drinking. This year, however, KAIST has banned the consumption of alcohol as part of the orientation events. The KAIST Herald delves deeper into the issue at hand.
Pro: The University’s Purpose Comes Before Student Entertainment
By: Jae Young Byon
Starting from April, in accordance with the latest proposed revisions to the National Health Promotion Act, the consumption and sales of alcohol on university campus grounds will be banned, with respective fines of 100,000 and 5,000,000 Korean Won for any breaching of these prohibitions. KAIST recently had its own issue with alcohol on campus when the school administration forbade students from drinking during freshmen welcoming events and activities. Despite opposition shown by students nationwide, with cynical comments such as “21st Century Alcohol Ban” appearing on online communities, the alcohol restriction proposal looks set to be enacted with only a minor change, which allows alcohol consumption on campus by permission of the university’s president for occasions such as the spring festival. However, even with all the logic and reasoning that can be found in the opposition voiced against this law, the merits of such a change cannot be denied when the situation is viewed with regards to student safety and student education, the universities’ primary objective.
Possibly the strongest motive for advocating this law is the matter of students’ health and safety. Every year, tragic news of university freshmen dying from excessive alcohol consumption at orientation and welcoming parties make the headlines. Korea’s culture is such that students feel liberated from the pressure and expectations of their high school lives upon entering universities, and many take the opportunity to experience, among other things, the alcohol-heavy night life. This tendency, coupled with the strong hierarchical nature among students where those senior to you are regarded as having the rights to pressure you into drinking, can, and often does, lead to dangerous levels of drinking among university students. In passing this new revision proposal, students are given fewer avenues of alcohol consumption and thus, discouraged from overly frequent drinking. Although students will still have alternate options to drink, this legal separation of alcohol and university can hopefully help change the association of university life to that of drinking often. Furthermore, the problems originating from students’ excessive drinking include those other than physical self-harm. Intoxicated individuals lack the ability to make sensible decisions and in the case of a young university student, who may be experiencing the highs and lows of inebriation for the first time, the likelihood that he will make poor decisions to later regret is significantly high. Anything from small fights between drunken students to unprotected sex or rape are possible results.
Seen from an academic perspective, this new law is sensible in helping to create a better campus atmosphere. First and foremost, universities are institutes of learning, and KAIST is certainly no exception. Considering the extent of financial funding and support it receives from the government and in order to become an internationally renowned research university, KAIST should try to limit the excessive drinking culture from spreading amongst its student body. Only when the students themselves do not expect to drink often throughout the semester can a truly academic atmosphere conducive to learning be achieved. Although its high academic standards and fierce competition for grades among students make alcohol consumption less problematic for KAIST than it perhaps is for most other universities, it can nonetheless be pointed out that the high-pressure environment students must cope with every day can be a strong motivation to turn to alcohol when the workload piles up or after a disappointing exam. Additionally, the university could attain a “cleaner” image that will go some ways to reassure worried parents that their sons and daughters are being provided with the ideal environment to study in.
Opponents of the proposed alcohol restriction have suggested that in banning alcohol sales and consumption on university campuses, they are taking away the “romance” of life on the university campus while also treating students like violent drunkards. It has also been argued that the problem with excessive alcohol consumption is a national concern and not simply a problem limited to university students. A romantic campus life can still be enjoyed, however, with the introduction of this ban; club activities, for example, would be a healthier (and arguably more fulfilling) use of one’s time. Alcohol will still be easily available in the many bars and restaurants that often surround university campuses. Regardless of the state of alcohol consumption for the rest of society, universities appear to be as good a place to start as any in helping the nation control its drinking habits and problems.
Con: Cheers to Responsible Drinking
By: Jiwon Lee
It is well-known that alcohol can have several negative effects on the body, including vomiting, impaired judgment, ataxia, blackouts, and liver failure. Alcohol-related violence and traffic accidents are also serious public health issues. Considering all the possible problems that could arise from alcohol consumption, it is understandable why the KAIST administration might express concern regarding activities that involve drinking. However, banning alcohol consumption altogether from student-organized and school-sponsored events would be a huge insult to college students, as it undermines their rights to exercise freedom of choice as adults and questions their ability to make independent decisions.
Alcohol is a part of our culture, and it has been for a very long time. In fact, evidence suggests that human beings have been producing alcoholic beverages as far back as the Stone Age. Though alcohol can be a health hazard when consumed in excess, a moderate amount can induce euphoria, facilitate social interaction, and add pleasure to recreational activities. At KAIST, alcohol is frequently found at many social gatherings and even at some school events such as the KAIST Spring Festival or department-hosted parties. At the beginning and end of the semester, pretty much every department, lab, club, and organization celebrates at one of the many bars in Eoeun-dong, sometimes drinking until the sun comes up. These activities help students establish strong bonds with their peers and professors, and comprise a bulk of the fond memories that graduates carry out of KAIST. Social activities that involve alcohol have become a tradition in the KAIST community. Even if they are to be prohibited, it is unlikely that they would be discontinued. KAIST students are smart – they would probably just adopt a more secretive attitude when planning organized events and generate creative ways to avoid being subjected to disciplinary action.
KAIST has its share of shocking stories related to alcohol. On the KAIST online forum ARA, various accounts can be found of intoxicated individuals walking into someone else’s room, mistaking it for their own, then vomiting, and sometimes even relieving themselves on the floor. There have also been many incidents in which students were pressured to drink well over their limits, and as a result, ended up in the hospital. Intoxication can lead the sanest people to act in the most ridiculous ways, and it is a shame that student gatherings involving drinking have led to such incidents, but college students have the right to make their own decisions and should be given the chance to learn from their mistakes. College is much like a transition stage from adolescence to adulthood, and a significant part of the college experience is learning how to be independent. Irresponsible choices concerning alcohol can lead to disaster; however, this does not mean that KAIST should try to minimize student exposure to alcohol by banning it from organized events. Regardless of how much exposure students have to alcohol in KAIST, they will encounter it in abundance outside its walls. A good college should train their students for success, not just academically but also socially, and what KAIST should aim to do instead is to create a safe environment in which students can learn how to practice drinking responsibly. Students need to learn how to socialize in an environment where alcohol is served and how much liquor their body can handle. Some students may dislike being pressured to drink by their professors and peers; however, it is their responsibility to learn how to react in such circumstances, and how to politely decline.
People can only learn how to become a responsible social drinker through experience, and there is no better environment to achieve this than college. If a student drinks too much and cannot walk back to his dorm, there will almost definitely be two or three concerned seniors who will make sure he gets back safe. If someone binge drinks and does something completely out of character, it does not really matter. Because face it – everybody does sooner or later. It is certainly much better than humiliating oneself in a professional environment. So taking a paternalistic approach and banning alcohol may be a convenient solution for KAIST, but it is short-sighted. KAIST should be concerned about not just the students who reside within its walls, but also those who walk out of it. To address the handful of instances where drinking activities get out of hand, KAIST should instead establish policies regarding alcohol that allows students the freedom to drink, but also holds them responsible for actions that result from poorly made decisions.