A Newman's Day to be proud of

I'll start with an admission: Newman's Day is pretty fun. As one of my coworkers put it when asked for her thoughts on the notorious on goings of April 24, "Even if you're not drinking, you get to see students walking around drunk, doing things they wouldn't normally do." Well put, Coco. Essentially, it's Princeton kids' way of rebelling against a stereotype, and many of its participants would argue that they deserve the one-day change of pace. Do we really?

Last year, while an anonymous friend of mine was vomiting in a Blair Hall bathroom from the excessive drinking of Newman's Day, the Scott Newman Center in Torrance, Calif., was continuing its work to prevent substance abuse. While contrasting the two may seem like a melodramatic tactic, I think it's time we at Princeton take a second look at both the foundation and the current status of our unique tradition.

For those students not familiar with Newman's Day, the basic idea is that one will try to drink twenty-four beers in twenty-four hours on April 24th in honor of what Actor Paul Newman, now 79, allegedly said in a speech at Princeton. While Newman denies being responsible for the mantra "24 beers in a case, 24 hours in a day. Coincidence? I think not," whether he said it or not isn't really relevant to our discussion.

Perhaps more relevant is the fact that Newman's son Scott died at the age of 28 from a drug overdose in 1978, prompting Newman to create the Scott Newman Foundation, whose stated mission is to "prevent substance abuse through education." I'll summarize: We're using the name of a man whose son died from substance abuse as an excuse to spend an entire day abusing a substance.

In principal, however, what's more disturbing is that we, the students, have been supportive of this tradition in the first place, regardless of the extremely insulting message it sends to Paul Newman and his family. The day is inarguably self-indulgent, potentially dangerous (five students required medical attention because of alcohol-related incidents last year), and generally rather gratuitous. Princeton kids have plenty of opportunities to drink and enjoy themselves — isn't this day just a little excessive?

Returning to the positive, one of the main focuses of Newman's foundation has been the Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp, an offshoot of the Scott Newman Center which is designed to help mothers affected by substance abuse and their children find a more positive outlook on their lives. As an article in Nonprofitworld Magazine from the summer of 2001 describes, "The Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp does more than help moms recover from drug addiction and domestic violence. It builds healthy family relationships. Moms and kids share activities that teach self-expression and teamwork, challenging their perceptions of what they can do. They learn to appreciate each other, express themselves, and solve problems together."

While the majority of Princeton students do not fully participate in Newman's Day, most students do seem to approve enthusiastically of what takes place. Maybe on April 24th this year, we at Princeton could consider channeling our energy in a different direction in honor of Paul Newman. What do I propose? The cost of a cheap 24-pack of beer is around $10 to $15. Instead of supporting such a purchase, what if all the students at Princeton decided to send that same sum of money to the Scott Newman Center?

Not to sound too cheesy, but the idea of helping so many disadvantaged families on the other side of the country seems pretty intoxicating in itself. David Marcovitz is a sophomore from Ambler, Penn. He can be reached at dem@princeton.edu.