Letter's Not Enough

Dean Lewis and the house masters must work much harder to combat the depressing and illegally ubiquitious presence of alcohol in Harvard life. Their recent letter overemphasizes the costs of addiction and punishment, continuing a fruitless, heartless crusade to scare students out of drinking.

Masters, tutors and proctors instead need to convey a new message: It is a virtuous and valiant choice to relax, socialize and party while staying sober, and (for those of us under 21) while following the law. Convincing students to change their attitude toward alcohol will take more thoughtful and more caring leadership from University Hall than that evidenced by a mass-produced letter.