The new Stanford University Office of Alcohol Policy and Education (OAPE) kicked off the 2011-2012 academic year with “T.G.I.F.” on Friday, Sept. 30th. This event, an alcohol-free party, was the “place to be,” as it featured a popular student DJ, free refreshments and distribution of Red Zone t-shirts. It was, to quote its Facebook page, a “damn good time.”

The few dozen students who attended hopefully had a good time. But overall, the event was not much of a success, as other venues like Sigma Nu and its “Disorientation” extravaganza attracted hordes of freshmen, many of whom were unfortunately not sober.

The office’s intentions are undoubtedly good–Stanford has a policy that does not crack down on underage students consuming alcohol in their rooms, and a large number of students take advantage of this, sometimes irresponsibly. With this in mind, the OAPE seeks to create alternative events where students can go that do not encourage the consumption of alcohol beforehand.

It is true that one need not drink before attending a frat party. It is also true that, given their volume, size and inherent character, frat parties might not be very enjoyable to the average sober student. Contrary to the assumption implicit in T.G.I.F, these students are not necessarily looking for an alcohol-free version of a frat party.  Furthermore, they may naturally shy away from a party of any sort that is put on by the “Office of Alcohol Policy and Education,” no matter how much free pizza or Jamba Juice is supplied.

Again, the efforts of the office are certainly well intentioned. But they lack a certain understanding of what, say, a freshman new to the University might gravitate toward in the face of social pressure. Consider the freshman who is faced with this conundrum: most of his or her hallway is in the room next door, slamming down shots to the latest hit by LMFAO as they pregame for a frat party. This student would rather not participate, and as a result is faced with a limited set of options. Sure he or she could head out alone, to get some food at The Axe and Palm, to grab a cup of coffee at the CoHo, to any one of the innumerable events that take place on campus–one glance at the Stanford Events web page will confirm this.

But what any freshman struggles with most initially is finding a sense of community, of finding like-minded students and establishing a group of friends. And so, it is not so much the events across campus as the social environment in the dorm that can veer a student who is on the fence away from alcohol consumption.

These efforts are best spearheaded by dormitory staff who undergo extensive training in many kinds of University policy. However, in this scenario, it is not about learning the rules–it is about finding the freshmen who choose not to drink, and thereby perhaps find themselves isolated, and providing other things to do. We recommend that the Office of Alcohol Policy and Education downplay its role in putting on these events and instead, creatively pursue more organic, dorm-centric methods of deterring student alcohol consumption.