It is an unavoidable reality that the abuse of alcohol has a significant negative impact upon the Bates campus. One need look no further than a dormitory bathroom on a Sunday morning to assess its impact. Simply put, the excesses of one student has the potential to impact all of those living within their proximity.

It is a matter of maturity and responsibility. We College students, as a group, have consistently failed to show that we can drink responsibly. Whether it be a broken banister, a trip to the health center or a more tragic example such as the deaths at MIT and Louisiana State University, college drinkers repeatedly show the rest of the nation that we just cannot handle our liquor.

Yet we whine incessantly when the State of Maine enforces alcohol laws on campus, or when Bates beefs-up its alcohol policy.

These changes are not an infringement upon our rights to drink or party. They represent an effort to secure the rights of others who would prefer not to wade through vomit on the way to the shower, walk across a beer-soaked carpet and pay for the holes in a wall left by someone who takes great pride in the density of his skull.

So there you have it -- our last call to Bates. Not for another drink, but rather for the gumption to act with accountability.