Matthew, your article really missed the point of disallowing empty alcohol containers in dorm rooms (\Another ineffective prohibition"" Opinion, Sept. 24). Housing Residence Life Staff will tell you that the purpose of the policy is to help house fellows enforce the current alcohol policies. Not ""in part,"" as your article claims. The basis for the policy is the countless previous years' conflicts between house fellows and residents about whether that bottle of UV is really filled with blue-colored water so it looks cool in the black light. And the house fellows will tell you that their jobs are easier because of the policy. While you are correct that the policy probably will not change underage drinking, your statement that ""it has no effect on what it is attempting to achieve"" is incorrect. You just didn't know what the intended effect was.
You also might be uninformed as to how much effort goes in to forming new policies. The processes of proposal review, and approval are time-consuming activities. Not to mention the costs of mailing policy-change notifications to residents. In a time of a slow economy, budget deficits and budget cuts, it is not advisable to accuse the Division of ""demonstrating authority for the sake of authority."" Believe me, they have better things to do.
Adrian Cook
University housing
marketing assistant
