a reflection on college life at PSU

The recent death of fellow student Joe Dado should remind us of a few things. First, that none of us are invincible and that things can happen when you drink too much. I think we as college students tend to believe that because we are in fact college students that things like that just won't happen to us; we're too smart to get into trouble like that. Unfortunately it happens and we need to watch out for ourselves and each other at times. Secondly, that as upsetting as his death is for his friends and family, it is the ultimate punishment for lack of self-control and responsibility. Being a freshman at Penn State(and particularly UP), is an experience you will never forget. But this comes with great responsibility as well. What we should take away from this incident is that in the own the only person responsible for you is you. No one, not even your friends sometimes, are going to hold your hand through everything. You need to know when to either 1. stop drinking; 2. call a cab; or 3. get help from a friend to walk you home or take you to get medical assistance. It's just common sense. While his death saddens the community, Joe Dado unfortunately payed the ultimate price for irresponsibility. It is very difficult for me to write this and say that Joe's death is in any way his own fault, but sadly alot of it is. We should all remember to take care of ourselves and each other. This incident has thus created many negative externalities on the student community, including the Nuisance Gathering Ordinance proposed by the State College Borough Council and also harsh words from its members about Penn State's "binge drinking" problem. Let's be clear right now about one thing: there is no public policy they could ever put in place that will deter or even decrease the amount of drinking that happens at this university; it's just not viable or feasible in any way. There are just too many students to be able to enforce any sort of law. There is not enough law enforcement. Penn State's administration is not interested in curbing drinking as much as the borough council is either. If PSU's policies become too severe towards drinking, this may deter many applicants from coming here, meaning less tuition revenue for PSU. This is an example of the principal-agent problem. I was talking with one of my friends about this incident when it happened, and I told him that in about a month Joe Dado will be forgotten and everything will return to normal and everyone will continue drinking and partying and having fun like usual; sure enough, that was the case. By now, everyone forgets about Joe Dado unless you see it in the paper. Why? Because frankly, and unfortunately, unless your life was directly affected, no one honestly cares. People look upon this incident and say 'ahh he got drunk and unfortunately fell and died. But I didn't know him and it didn't happen to me, he's just a freshman, time to move on.' This is a very unfortuante attitude to have, but the truth though is that it's the truth. Everyone has forgotten about Joe Dado and moved on and continued life, and in some respects that is the right thing to do, to move on. The world can't stop because of one incident. Frankly, I'm surprised more incidents like this don't happen here, with 40000 students, and on home football weekends even more than that. Maybe that is an ironic testament to our student body, who knows. The State College Borough Council wants to curb binge drinking, but the only change that could ever come about is if the students decide to enact it themselves. Face the facts council members: we're 40000 strong, we have very few incidents for as large as we are, and if residents of the community are upset at that, then move. You knew what you were getting into when you moved here and if you don't like it, you have the freedom to leave. Penn State will always be here. Drinking will always be here. Even unfortunate incidents like Joe Dado's death will never persuade students to cut back on drinking; anyone who was downtown on Halloween can recognize that. There is really nothing that can be done. College students like to drink. Penn State has 40000 students and is a great facilitator for that. It will never, ever change. 50 years from now Penn State will be the same. If the borough council isn't happy with it, then maybe they should take their complaints to another borough, because PSU isn't going anywhere, neither is drinking, and neither are the students.