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The Whole College Catalog About Drinking: A Guide to Alcohol Abuse Prevention
PLEASE NOTE: The Whole College Catalog is available for historical purposes. The
Whole College Catalog is 37 years old and should be viewed as a historical document
only. Please be aware that a more recent report exists,
A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges.
Purpose of the Whole College CatalogThe purpose of this Whole College Catalog is to encourage fresh thinking and experimentation regarding alcohol abuse prevention. The aim was to make it as comprehensive, interesting, understandable, provocative, and last but not least, as useful as possible. Each section is a separate unit that can be used independently to meet distinct needs. The ideas and program concepts found in these pages were contributed by students and staff from various colleges around the country; not all are necessarily endorsed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The College Catalog does not pretend to give any final answers. The best programs will be the ones that you develop. Some of the efforts described here were not complete successes; others are just getting underway. The important thing is that different approaches are being tried and that we can learn from each other’s experience. Use any part of this Catalog that you feel appropriate or that fits the needs of your college community. Good Luck! PREFACE
Thus spoke Father Theodore Hesburgh to students and faculty from around the country in November 1975 at a meeting held to review the contents of this Whole College Catalog. The University of Notre Dame president went on to call alcohol abuse “one of the great enormous problems of our times,” and spoke of two illuminating experiences from his own life. The first involved his learning how to drink in a “civilized manner,” mostly with meals, while studying in pre-World War II Italy. He recalled that in 3 years in that country he saw only three people drunk—and two of them were Americans! (And he had seen hundreds of thousands of Italians during those 3 years.) The second incident involved a law student he knew at Notre Dame after the war. Every time this fellow would go downtown at night he would inevitably come back to the residence hall in an intoxicated state; and usually someone had to put him to bed. On one particular occasion it was Father Hesburgh who gave assistance and, in parting, asked the student to see him the next day. The following morning the student arrived looking a bit sheepish and expecting a stern reprimand. Instead, he was asked what he wanted out of life. The student responded that he wanted to be a successful lawyer, have a good marriage, and be a good father. Father Hesburgh then asked “Okay, do you know what you are right now?” The student said, “Yeah, I’m a law student at Notre Dame.”
The student had to admit that the answer was “no” to all three questions.
These two experiences of Father Hesburgh illustrate some important points about alcohol abuse as it relates to American society and to us as individuals. While drunkenness and the accompanying social damage are perhaps not unique to the United States, they do tend to be more prevalent and destructive in this country than in many others. Fortunately, there are societies where individuals have learned to use alcohol in a mature, nondestructive, “gracious and joyful” way. We can look at these cultures and perhaps find help for our own future. Despite what we see on television and read in magazines, drinking does not solve our problems—it is not the key to success and happiness. For those of us who have set personal goals and who seek human dignity and happiness, it might be well worthwhile to reexamine our use of alcohol and our behavior, as well as that of those we love, to see if there is something “goofy” in our lives. This Catalog is dedicated to reexamination. Contents
Historical document
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