Rowan University is constituted as a “dry campus” when it comes to many of its freshman and underclassmen dorms. It has policies to enforce this, but does the title “dry campus” have any real effect on underage students from consuming alcohol or drugs? 

Firstly, Rowan is not officially a dry campus, nor has it ever been legally stated to be so. However, it does use the “dry” label to describe some first-year student dorms, and “dry buildings” such as Holly Pointe, Evergreen, Mimosa, and other freshman dorms. There are also prohibitions on apartments for students under the age of 21, even if the rest of the residents are of age. Despite this, it still occurs and is prevalent in many colleges.

There are rules in place to stop young students from indulging in such behaviors, and RAs (Resident Assistants) are there to enforce said rules, but this is not necessarily effective. Instead, this pushes drinking underground. 

Drinking happens in secret and can lead to more risks, including binge drinking in dorms. In my own experience, I’ve witnessed friends and strangers alike drown themselves in alcohol in campus dorms without knowing how much they could handle, and more often than not, need help for the rest of their night. 

It’s not like there aren’t strict consequences either. Rowan University’s official website has a page on Safety Regulations for Residential Living that lists how “Student involvement in the use, possession, distribution, manufacture, and/or sale of drugs of any type is a matter of grave concern to the University. Student involvement in any of the aforementioned areas will result in disciplinary action by the University as well as cooperation with local law enforcement agencies.” 

It shows how severe the university takes this issue, yet it still isn’t enough to stop underage students from drinking. Why? 

A survey done by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) in 2023 shows that for full-time college students from the ages of 18 to 25, 49.6% drank alcohol, and 29.3% engaged in binge drinking in the past month alone. There are many factors as to why this happens, as well as why it happens to college students in particular. The reasons why, according to this study include, unstructured time, widespread availability of alcohol on or near campuses, inconsistent enforcement of underage drinking laws or rules, as well as less interaction with parents and other adults. It also explains that this early introduction to binge drinking could result in alcohol use disorder or other potential addictions and dependencies on alcohol.

College students drinking underage has always been an issue, as long as universities have been around. But what needs to be discussed is how it is handled. 

For starters, better education for alcohol is a must. College students will always find ways and avenues to consume alcohol, so if they do, at least educate them on how to be safe about it rather than just letting them take the risks that may result in injury or death. 

To add, a recent statistic by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found it was estimated that about 1,519 college students from ages ranging from 18 to 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries. This is clearly a huge problem, one that deserves more discussion.

Rowan is not a dry campus, and a hundred regulations, rules, and consequences will not stop underage students from drinking, but how it is handled and how students are educated about it can improve. By adapting to the situation, the way students go about being safe can change for the better. It’s no secret that there is drinking on college campuses, and here at Rowan. Whether or not you agree with it, we can all agree that students’ safety and lives are most important, and the approach we take to it can be the saving grace in a life-or-death scenario.

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