Ryan ChartrandMy name is Chris Kirk and I am the president of Under 4 here at Cal Poly. Last week there was an article written about the Under 4 campaign that included a few misconceptions and generalizations that I would like to address.
First, the definition of one sitting is one night. This means that going to several bars in a single night would not constitute multiple sittings. Therefore the average Cal Poly student has less than 4 drinks in a typical night (not 9 or more as the article outrageously suggested).
There has been some confusion about this phrasing since the inception of the project 4 years ago and it is something that we are looking to change. We are not trying to “brainwash” students, we are merely trying to inform students about the issues that can arise when you choose to drink.
The article also suggested that “learning the hard way” was the best way to learn about drinking limits. This is an immature suggestion and is the exact reason that we are trying to encourage students to drink responsibly – so they won’t have to learn from mistakes. An attempt was made on my part to contact the author of the original article but I received no response in the last week.
Writing an article based on blatant assumptions is simply not acceptable. I understand that people are entitled to their own opinions but would appreciate it if the campaign is not represented as something that it is not. We hope to encourage responsible drinking in a responsible manner. People that are interested in Under 4 can visit our newly redesigned Web site at www.UnderFour.com for information about survey results and other promotional activities planned for this year. We are excited about our potential and are looking forward to another successful year. Drink Responsibly.
Chris Kirk
Business administration senior