It was revealed in a Dispatch story last Friday that the city council in Oxford, home to Miami University, has considered banning all outdoor alcoholic games, because beer pong tables on front lawns invite very large parties
said Oxford's City Manager Jane Howington.
Howington could not be more correct, though simply banning outdoor games will not go nearly far enough to curb any university's drinking problem.
The first step is to outlaw porches and patios. People congregating outside with a happy demeanor automatically entices more malcontents to join the fun. Results are usually mild-mannered gatherings of friends, but they can lead to disaster ' loud music, loud people, even dancing.
Then there is still the issue of the games being played inside, that passersby can see through windows. That means innocent wanderers might still be drawn to parties by the chaotic and dangerous games.
Cell phones, Facebook, the social network, along with the Internet itself must be partly to blame. Invites can be sent to thousands of fellow students at once, and if just one in ten decide to show up, the event could spiral out of control.
But even that won't hit the root of the problem. City councils must prohibit simple gestures like smiling or laughing. Everyone knows that waving and singing along to popular party songs can increase party attendance five fold. The aftermath of such an event is horrific: plastic Solo cups littering the ground and dozens of people who claimed to have had a good time.
Oxford realizes that fun is contagious and therefore, it is dangerous ' and it must be controlled.Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Post executive editors. 17
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