Pubdate: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 Source: Phoenix (PA Edu) Copyright: 2003 The Phoenix Contact: http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/phoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/869 NO NEED FOR SUBSTANCE-FREE HOUSING They are an embattled minority, but they exist. Swattie after Swattie who furtively ask the bartender for Coke, whose smoke detectors have never once gone off during a moment of carelessness, who wake up Saturday mornings with a clear head and a stable stomach. The reason for the SWIL root beer kegger and the SCF water ice social. That's right the substance-free live among us. No one can deny that those of us who, for religious, moral, health or personal reasons choose not to partake in Swarthmore's classic tradition of recreational psychoactive substance use, often find ourselves in sticky social situations. It can be awkward being the only one who doesn't take a swig from the keg or a hit from the bong. And it is true that a disproportionate number of Swarthmore social events depend on alcohol for their excitement. It's at times like this, when concerned Ville parents start talking about the cesspool of corruption by the Crum again, when yet another SAC-funded event breaks down into nude streaking and an alarming number of reporters start writing exposes about "college alcohol culture," that the deans start casting about for possible face-saving measures. Substance-free housing seems attractive on the face of it. You have a whole dorm full of clean-living, urine-test-passing Swarthmore students to point to. You have an excuse to start plugging more substance-free-friendly events. You have responded to the issue of substance use. The problem with this is the problem with all simplistic institutional solutions. By treating the problem as more simple than it is, we create new problems. What happens to the rest of the student body that gets lumped into the "substance users" category, whether they drink an occasional glass of champagne or shoot heroin? What happens to substance-free students who get lumped into a single social group because of one life choice? What happens to substance-free-dorm RAs who now have to become DEA enforcers 24/7? The issue of substance use is a valid one, but it deserves a more thorough treatment than a housing designation.