Alcohol Abuse is NOT Trivial or Funny

A number of professors at Fresno State University have taken a pledge to be careful what they say to students about alcohol abuse. Joking about or trivializing alcohol abuse conveys the message that it's acceptable or even natural and expected.

The organizer of the movement, Prof. Michael Caldwell, says students have told him about their instructors "making comments to the effect of ‘Everybody enjoy partying this weekend,' and ‘OK, it's the weekend. Let's go party."

Parents and others would do well to follow the good example of the Fresno State professors. Alcohol abuse is never acceptable behavior by anyone, any time, or anywhere. To suggest otherwise is to contribute to the problem of alcohol abuse rather than the solution.