Tabor drinking

To the editor:

Finn Hartnett’s article “Tabor College’s alcohol policies walk the line” last week raised the question of why Tabor College prohibits student alcohol use.

I appreciate the question and welcome the opportunity to explain the rationale behind Tabor’s policies. 

As a Christian college, we strive to base our decisions on the Bible. Although the Bible denounces drunkenness, it does not prohibit alcohol. 

The Bible commands followers of Jesus to love our neighbors as ourselves. I love our Tabor students so much that I want to help them make decisions and develop behaviors that benefit them and those around them.

Alcohol use among traditional college-age students is a high-risk behavior. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, among college students ages 18 to 24 each year:

• 3,360,000 drive under the influence of alcohol.
• 696,000 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
• 599,000 who are under the influence of alcohol are unintentionally injured.
• 22,219 are hospitalized for an alcohol overdose.
• 1,519 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes.

For 15 years, I taught at a large public university where legal alcohol use was allowed and even celebrated by many.

Alcohol-related assault and sexual assault were common. Nearly every year, a student died from alcohol poisoning or an alcohol-related injury.

I saw students let alcohol ruin their academic careers. I observed drunken students near death carried into the ER. I visited a student in the ICU after a suicide attempt, and I spoke at another student’s memorial service after his suicide. In both cases substance abuse was a factor.

Tabor College is different. Students know that alcohol and drug use is prohibited, and every year we discuss with them why.

This does not make us immune to alcohol and substance abuse issues. Tabor is an open-enrollment campus, meaning that all students are welcome, regardless of whether they are Christians.

All faculty and staff profess faith in Jesus, and it is our hope that students choose to follow Jesus.

The overwhelming majority of our undergraduate residential students are under the legal drinking age, so Tabor’s alcohol policy should be a non-issue for them.

Prohibiting alcohol at Tabor is not a punishment. It is an effort to create a vibrant and safe community where students learn to find their fun in safe, constructive ways, learning to solve their problems, not escape them for a moment.

Student accomplishments are celebrated, differences are worked out, harmful behaviors are corrected, and people are loved. It is a place where students can flourish.

David Janzen
President, Tabor College