Safe Ride encourages binge drinking, should have predetermined stops
It is no secret that college life across America glorifies drinking alcohol.
College-aged students drinking is as much a part of the American culture as apple pie. While college-aged students will drink and there is no stopping that phenomenon, safety needs to be a priority.
The “Safe Ride” program in Vermillion was originally designed to accomplish this goal. It operated as a shuttle-system where students get picked up at pre-determined locations and are dropped off downtown near the bars.
This system has, unfortunately, digressed into a system that would seem to facilitate and encourage drinking in general, and party-hopping and binge-drinking specifically.
Students at USD often call the service to get picked up at a specific location, and then use the service to go to another party. The service doesn’t usually ask students about the locations that they are being dropped off at, and no effort is made to ensure this shuttle service isn’t being used primarily for party-hopping.
Furthermore, it can encourage students to drink copious amounts of alcohol since they know there is always an alternative for them to get home at the end of the night.
Despite what many in the Midwest believe, binge-drinking is a serious public health epidemic and should be addressed as such, especially among college students.
Even though this has become what seems like a fairly consistent rite of passage among college students, college towns should do everything possible to discourage students from over-drinking.
The two biggest constraints causing students to question how much they drink and possibly limit intake usually involves a lack of way to get back home at the end of the night as well as money.
Since no one would advocate leaving drunk students helpless without a safe ride home, and rightfully so, the program should return to the roots of what it was designed to accomplish.
Safe Rides should have pre-determined stops at pre-determined times. If a student knows they need to take the Safe Ride home at 1 a.m., for example, maybe they would forego that last hour of drinking to make it home in a safe, convenient way.
This system can be reformed. It is not beyond salvation. In fact, it is a noble and excellent gesture to show we care about the safety of our students. However, it needs to operate as a system that pushes for a goal of helping students drink less, not more.
