The idea to make WILD a philanthropic event in light of the recent tragedy is a good one. We believe that our community should structure its events in such a way to ease the suffering of our countrymen in New York. That being said, we must say that to Team 31, your current plan is well intentioned but misguided. Again, we are in no way opposed to any of the philanthropic aspects of WILD, but the exclusion of kegs from this event will undoubtedly be counter-productive to your goals.
We do not see why kegs and philanthropy are mutually exclusive. Indeed, by banning kegs, Team 31 also eliminates the keg registration fee that, at say, 25 dollars, could be a significant portion of the event’s philanthropic revenue (30 kegs @ 25 dollars = 750 dollars!). The organizers of WILD could also suggest a donation to obtain a cup that would be required to drink from any of the kegs. Properly managed, kegs could form an active part of the event’s giving spirit.
Unless we are mistaken, Team 31′s money does not fund the purchase of alcohol. Rather, individual student groups and organizations buy and register the kegs independently. By the time of WILD, these groups will undoubtedly have addressed the tragedy in a manner consistent with their means and mission, making Team 31′s hope that the “group funds that would otherwise have been spent on alcohol” would go to WILD wistful yet unrealistic. Let each group address the issue in its own manner and spend its funds as it sees fit. Again, each group could conceivably donate money to the cause and buy a keg from which the registration fee would be donated to charity.
The absence of kegs will significantly lower attendance. We want to stress this as a truism. For better or for worse, drinking has been and will remain a tradition at this bi-annual event, and some people are likely to follow the kegs off campus rather than stay for the music. Without a legitimate headliner, the social aspects of this event need to be stressed.
Finally, and possibly most importantly, the absence of kegs will enhance the perception among students that alcohol will not be available at the event, resulting in increased consumption before entering the Quad. We did it when we were freshmen and have personally witnessed it increasing in the past few years. Regardless, driving drinking underground is never a desirable outcome. There is no reason to increase the risk to the students at an event geared towards hope. Keep the drinking where we can monitor it: at the event, with all of the professional support and emergency personnel at hand.
In the television coverage of recent days, one theme has emerged again and again: unity. WILD has always been a unifying event for the entire campus, where people from every corner and of every interest on campus come to relax and enjoy themselves. Many of us choose to drink at WILD, and eliminating kegs from the event will alienate a portion of the student body at the one time when we must stand united.

Popularity: unranked [?]

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2001 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.