Example Of Binge Drinking As A Substitute For A "Community Of Learning" Essay

In his article, “Binge Drinking as a Substitute for a ‘Community of Learning” Kenneth A. Bruffee postulates that Binge drinking has been on the rise in college campuses and that the important reason for this behavior is the membership in fraternities. He begins his article by mentioning the consequences of binge drinking such as bad grades, drunk driving, assault and even death. He says that even after the involvement of the college officials and pro active measures such as banning alcohol in campuses, punishment of heavy drinkers and getting rid of fraternities and sororities, binge drinking continues. He then goes on to make a connection between binge drinking and membership in a fraternity. Using incidents from his own life Bruffee says that freshman join a fraternity to have a sense of belonging. He says that he never made a friend from his courses until his final year and that it is true of many freshmen. Membership in a fraternity on the other hand gives instant friendship without the pursuit of academics or other interests which is needed mostly to forge a friendship in class. He says that most freshmen are scared and lonely and are made to feel insignificant by professors and the seniors. Since the members of the fraternity had once been freshmen too, they embrace the newcomers and give them a sense of belonging. Drinking is common says the author because the fraternity members too feel lonely and scared and are trying to hide it under their false bravado. Finally the author comes up with suggestions for colleges to encourage freshmen to make new friends. He says that instead of banning fraternities and alcohol, colleges can come up with new measures that students would make more friends in class and spend more time studying and pursuing other extracurricular activities.
Bruffee’s article although a little biased makes some important observations and suggestions about binge drinking behavior in college campuses. It is true that there is a high instance of binge drinking in fraternities but it would be wrong to blame it on the fraternities completely. Students with a proclivity towards drinking will indulge in drinking irrespective of their membership in a fraternity. However he is completely correct when he says that this behavior is encouraged in fraternities. Most members of fraternities do not have academic interest in common and the only thing that would keep them together is drinking. Also the easy atmosphere that drinking brings is used by the fraternities to bring in more freshmen. Bruffee’s use of anecdotes from his life plays an important part in making the essay relatable to anyone who reads it. His experiences of being a freshman and being a part of a fraternity gives credibility to his views and makes the reader think about the points he makes, which mostly make sense. Where he falters is when he does not say good things about what a membership in a fraternity could do. A fraternity membership looks good on a resume making the candidate look rounded and making friends in the fraternity also comes in handy later on in life as friendships forged there survive longer. The ‘old boys’ club are a result of the fraternity members keeping in touch and looking out for others. If not for the slight bias, Bruffee’s article makes for a good read and the suggestions he comes up with are valuable and should be looked into by college officials. He is tight when he says that instead of negative measures such as closing down fraternities, colleges should look at encouraging students to make more friends in the classroom. When students pursue academics with more gusto, binge drinking would definitely come down.