The SHAB alternative

Not very many us graduate students here at Princeton actually know what Newman's Day is. But even though we do not have a name for what happens on April 24, many of us see its consequences, most notably in precepts interrupted by those ridiculous but noticeable few who choose to come to class in an intoxicated state, beer can in tow.

Of course, if we did know the name, we probably would not use it. Scrutinizing language is a favorite pastime for my kind (especially those of us in the humanities), and assigning the name of a person who has done so much to fight alcohol and drug abuse to this date seems incongruous. It also strikes me as grossly hurtful, given that Newma's founding support of the Scott Newman Center was motivated by the death of his son, Scott, due to substance abuse.

One of the most important life skills that college students can learn is the ability to drink responsibly. The abuse that occurs in connection with April 24th — and make no mistake about it, this is substance abuse in one of its most egregious forms — also has serious repercussions outside of the classroom.

It is actually in the residential realm of Princeton life that I have most of my firsthand experience with this infamous date. I serve as assistant master of Rockefeller College, and the dangerously immature attempt of some undergraduates to consume 24 beers in 24 hours places a particular burden on the resident advisors that I oversee. Binge drinking of this magnitude inevitably results in late-night trips to McCosh or the University Medical Center at Princeton, not to mention the smaller accidents that occur before things reach that point. The end of the academic year is a busy time for juniors and seniors, and it is unfortunate that those who serve as RAs — and, to a lesser extent, MAA's — will have to spend most of the approaching weekend watching out for students who choose to risk their lives in the name of a tradition whose beginnings are so disputed.

There has been talk that some students will choose to mark the day early this year, since April 24 falls on a Saturday, and part of the challenge is to continue the consumption of beer while attending class.

Let me suggest a better way to mark the date — less challenging, perhaps, but altogether more meaningful. This year, the Student Health Advisory Board (SHAB) will be selling T-shirts to draw attention to "Newman's Day." Generally SHAB acts as a liaison between the student body and McCosh, representing students' concerns to University Health Services, but on this issue this group has deemed it necessary to represent students' concerns to students themselves. The T-shirts, which will be on sale Thursday and Friday in Frist, are an important reminder of the real cost of alcohol abuse. On the front they read: "Celebrate Newman's Day 2004." On the back: "by honoring Scott's memory . . ."

If Princeton students want to keep a tradition of Newman's Day alive, the lesson that can be learned from this death is what that tradition should be. SHAB's T-shirts are an appropriate — and sobering — reminder to drink responsibly. Cole M. Crittendon GS is an assistant master of Rockefeller College. He can be reached at critendn@princeton.edu.