Keep Brown substance-free

Although I commend The Chronicle for supporting the maintenance of substance-free housing on East, the suggestion to create substance-free halls within multiple dorms will not solve the obstacles that Brown faces. I lived in Brown, and I would first like to challenge the figure that “over 50 percent” of Brownies drink—in my estimate the percentage is far lower.

Unless evidence exists, nobody should assume that so many people break the substance-free contract. Also, as Katie Zimmerman noted in her Sept. 24 letter, the fact that a few students discreetly break the contract does not lessen the positive experience for everyone else.

As for eliminating the Brown stigma, I feel that scattering substance-free halls throughout East could actually increase the problem. If students within a dorm are singled out as substance-free, other students may still stigmatize them.

As the situation stands now, even if a Brownie feels stigmatized, he or she can return to the dorm and feel accepted. Also, instead of experiencing peer pressure not to drink, substance-free students spread throughout East would feel pressured in the opposite direction. With alcohol use so prevalent on campus, we shouldn’t make substance-free living more difficult for freshmen. Finally, while designating one dorm as substance-free may imply that the rest of the campus is not, eliminating Brown will not change the reality that many freshmen do drink.

Instead of scattering the substance-free students and eliminating the close-knit support network that we enjoyed in Brown, I advocate the creation of another substance-free dormitory on East. To the best of my knowledge this would not increase Residential Life and Housing Services costs, and it would allow many more of the students who request substance-free housing to be accommodated.

The fact that more students would participate in the program could have the added benefit of decreasing the stigma. Living in Brown was one of the best parts of my Duke experience so far, and personally, I believe that as many students as possible should have that option.

Stephanie Reitz