Anyone who has recently patronized one of Madison’s bars has noticed a disturbing new trend, one that has nothing to do with throwback jerseys or wave caps. I speak, of course, of the newest addition to the varied social circle that makes Wisconsin the number three party school in the nation: Dane County’s finest, Madison’s boys in blue.
While I am unsure if any of the Madison Police Department’s officers are curious about the various drink specials and wild atmosphere of sexual debauchery that make the bars a staple of Madison nightlife, I do have a fairly good idea what they are interested in. The police department’s campaign to end underage drinking in Madison is beyond frivolous. The social consumption of alcohol is as much a part of the University of Wisconsin as State Street or Badger football. The current crusade to end underage drinking at UW is nothing more than a campaign to fill the coffers of the police department treasury. With all due respect to Police Chief Noble Wray, this is an exercise in futility, wastefulness and shortsightedness.
Alcohol’s path through American history has been as socially divergent as any other product that comes to mind. Booze was vital to the daily life of colonial America. Benjamin Franklin, considered by many to be America’s own da Vinci, is famous not only for his contribution to the Declaration of Independence but for famously penning, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Nowadays, college students worldwide celebrate on a weekly basis at the advice of our founding father.
Drinking’s truly negative stigma began with the colonization of the American West, when saloons became a predominant social institution. While imbibing was still socially acceptable in most cases (see Andrew Jackson’s opening of the White House to the public, as well as the entire of life of President Ulysses S. Grant), the nature of alcohol as a taboo was legally instituted into American history with the 18th Amendment, better known as Prohibition. This failed experiment was successful only in ushering in the growth of crime unprecedented before the 20th century.
While the 18th Amendment was repealed in 1935, alcohol was already set in stone as one of main “vices” of American culture. In the 1970s, states found themselves being coerced into raising their drinking ages from 18 to 21 in exchange for federal highway funding. Essentially, this is where we remain today.
What baffles me about drinking laws and the relevant police activity is the amount of activities one is eligible for upon their 18th birthday, all of which are considered acceptable. In my opinion, some of these are far more perilous than moderate drinking. In most states, a person is eligible to buy a rifle or shotgun at 18. At 18, Americans are essentially eligible to die in Iraq. Last November, we all saw the perils of the 18-year-old voting age.
Furthermore, drinking laws are enforced in a manner that is beyond arbitrary. In fact, it’s insulting. It makes absolutely no sense that one can pose for pictures while clearly intoxicated with the officers of the law on Halloween or at the Mifflin Street Block Party, then face stiff drinking penalties the next day for the consumption of a single beer. Drinking tickets are issued in a manner entirely dependent on the whim of the officer serving them.
Pragmatically, I think that it’s time for Russ Feingold to introduce legislation returning the drinking age to 18. Madison police need to lighten up about what’s become an essential and generally harmless part of the University lifestyle. Perhaps police should concentrate on keeping the streets safe after 2 a.m., when drunken mischief is most likely. Finally, to Police Chief Wray: I’d be delighted to sit down and talk about these issues like two adults, preferably over a beer or three.
Gabe Cohen ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism.
