Letter to the editor
Goshen College has made a very poor decision.The inauguration of an official Goshen College beer aka Broken Shield over Homecoming Weekend sends conflicting messages to the student body and campus community as a whole. I have no problem with alcohol at GC alumni functions, but naming a beer as the official drink of GC is essentially giving the students on campus the college’s blessing to make alcohol a part of their college experience.
Yes, students party, and that will always be the case. Some would say that’s part of the college experience. But we forget that for one, half the student body is underage, and two, college students often drink to get drunk.
There’s a big difference between having a drink and drinking as an activity.
It’s no surprise, then, that Emily Hahn, program director for sexual assault prevention and advocacy felt the need to clarify in a chapel address that “it’s acknowledging and allowing the presence of alcohol … but it’s not going so far as to provide alcohol or bring it to campus.” The need for clarifications and caveats such as this only prove that the college is saying one thing while doing another.
I am always happy to give my annual donation to my alma mater, but this year I may reconsider.
Ann Minter Fetters ‘86
