Remembering Rider

Most of you have heard of Gary DeVercelly. The name may not sound familiar, but you've heard of him nonetheless. Gary was a freshman at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., just 15 minutes from Princeton's campus. He died less than two weeks ago of alcohol poisoning after drinking heavily at a fraternity event.

When a terrible event like this occurs, we often respond by placing blame. We blame the fraternity. We blame the eating club. We blame the friends who were there and did not intervene. But at the end of the day, the weight is on us — all of us. As college students, we are members of a culture that encourages heavy drinking whether or not we realize it. How many times have you heard someone boast about downing seven shots of tequila and passing out half an hour later? How many times have you heard someone say "Dude, I got so wasted last night" with no hint of remorse? We go out each weekend, we drink, we have fun, we talk it up, and we become desensitized to the danger facing us — therein lies the danger.

Rider had the misfortune of this tragedy, but we face the same scenario every weekend. We are not immune to this breed of disaster; it would be naive of us to think so. In order for us to minimize the danger, we first have to recognize that it exists. We must take it upon ourselves as a student body to foster a culture where moderation and a sense of personal responsibility displace the reckless abuse of alcohol.

As eating club presidents, we are deeply concerned about the dangerous drinking practices of many students both on and off the Street. When students are in our clubs, we are responsible for their wellbeing, and we take our jobs very seriously. We take a variety of measures to ensure that the students who visit our clubs enjoy themselves safely and responsibly, including hiring professional bouncers and bartenders, providing nonalcoholic beverage and assigning club officers to be on duty. We strongly encourage students looking for help to utilize resources like University Health Services or Corner House, a young-adult counseling center on Witherspoon Street. We do our utmost to keep the clubs free from dangerous and destructive activities such as vandalism, binge drinking and physical or sexual harassment or assault. It is in the clubs' best interest, and in the interests of the students we serve, to maintain a safe and enjoyable social environment.

More broadly, though, as a community, we need to adopt a more serious attitude toward alcohol abuse, and rather than joke about it, we need to recognize and respect the danger inherent in such risky behavior. We must refuse to accept reckless drinking as the norm. We need to recognize that any activities that involve the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol in short periods of time, including heavy pre-gaming, hazing and the abuse of hard liquor are inherently dangerous and potentially life-threatening. We cannot expect to promote or even allow such behaviors without suffering serious consequences; we might get away with it, but then again, we might not. It is our responsibility, as members of campus organizations, sports teams, Greek organizations, eating clubs and as individuals, to take a stand against the dangerous behavior that results in tragedies like Gary's death.

The end of spring semester is coming into view, and Houseparties are just around the corner. It is going to be an amazing time, and all the eating clubs are throwing everything we've got into making it a fun weekend. Let's make it a responsible and a safe weekend as well. Tommy Curry is the president of Colonial Club and writes on behalf of the Inter-Club Council. He can be reached at tcurry@princeton.edu.