I have spoken to UCS president Joel Payne and UCS members Jess Maddox and Brian Bidadi, who authored the keg resolution. First of all, there is strong sentiment among the members of UCS that keg registration will increase student safety and decrease binge and underage drinking. Secondly, UCS argues that the presence of kegs automatically entails a corollary: that on-campus party organizers are trained and held accountable by the University. Thirdly, UCS is convinced that kegs will curb waste. I completely disagree with UCS's stance.
To begin with, how will the University mandate and enforce keg registration? The idea that kegs will curb dangerous drinking assumes that kegs will wholly replace cans on campus. This is not logically feasible. Firstly, kegs are much more difficult to transport than, let's say a few six-, 12- or 24-packs. Secondly, forget moving kegs around, you have to get one first. But with keg registration, it is much more troublesome to obtain a keg. You have to leave your contact information and usually a hefty deposit. And who wants to go through the trouble of returning the keg?
As for UCS's second argument, the use of kegs will not be an effective tracing mechanism that can accurately pinpoint where students get their drinks. UCS believes that kegs will allow tracing of alcohol sources, and even limit underage drinking - a view that UCS feebly attempts to justify by the fact that it takes longer to dispense alcohol from a tap than to quickly consume alcohol from a can or a bottle. Again, this view assumes that kegs will wholly and automatically replace cans and bottles and ignores the likely possibility that kegs will add to the presence and availability of alcohol on campus. Here's the clincher that marks the death knell of UCS's argument: How will DPS be able to tell if a drunk student on Thayer or Charlesfield got alcohol from a frat or a dorm or off campus? Similarly, how will DPS ascertain whether a student drank from a can or a keg? Impossible!
Additionally, in a personal email to me, Bidadi claimed that parties on campus are all well-organized and adhere to university alcohol policies. But in practice, parties held in campus-owned group social buildings such as Sayles and Faunce aren't carefully organized and supervised at all! First-years and underage students can easily drink and are even encouraged to do so. I am an MPC in Hope and have talked to many of my first years about this. They have admitted the ease of obtaining alcohol at such parties. Moreover, I have spoken to DPS officers directly about this, and many say that they do not have the power to curb underage drinking, as they are only allowed to be posted outside the building, not inside.
Finally, plastic cups take upwards of 1,000 years to decompose, while aluminum cans do so more easily. Maddox's letter had the alluring, catchy title: "Kegs are environmentally friendly, safer, cheaper alternative." Yet in the body he makes no mention of how the environment wins from all this. Yes, he writes that "kegs reduce the waste associated with canned beers," but he fails to extrapolate. What about the waste accompanying keg use? I personally would rather have a bunch of metal cans lying around than plastic cups. Does UCS expect every partygoer to bring his or her own reusable mug?
Their argument is that Greek houses don't recycle or recycle poorly, commonly mixing non-recyclable plastic cups with aluminum cans. Therefore, the solution is not to educate the Greek houses, but rather to switch from a consumption waste of half-recyclable material to a complete outflow of non-recyclable, low-grade plastic cups. If UCS really wanted to be "environmentally friendly," they would try to fix the recycling problem, not make it worse. Why motivate students to throw away even more trash?
Furthermore, Greek houses do try to recycle. While they may inadvertently put in plastic cups, I don't believe that the answer is the return of kegs to campus.
Will kegs replace other containers of alcohol? Glass bottles? Cans? I am very skeptical. Cans and glass bottles are easier to purchase: You don't have to leave ID. Cases are easier to transport. Furthermore, kegs would only apply to large parties, not the regular 20-person kickback deal.
I strongly urge UCS to reevaluate its stance on reintroducing kegs, which may very likely cause more detriment than good.
Jeremy Mak '07 is saving the world, one step at a time.
