Dry campus rules punish young adults for participating in normal social behaviors, and it might actually make drinking more dangerous.

Going to a liquor store when you live in Conway can feel like Christmas because getting alcohol is hard enough in this dry county. 

But being forced to live on a dry campus as a 21-year-old is extra depressing.

A few Miller High Lifes in the dorm minifridge isn’t going to kill anybody, but it’s technically against the housing lease and UCA’s student handbook.

Students who are caught violating the policy can face harsh penalties, even if their behavior poses no real threat to others.

While hiding alcohol is probably considered a rite of passage for college students, slipping up can become a huge hassle.

People might not call for help in situations where they could use it because they were intoxicated, or because there was evidence of alcohol possession at the scene.

Obviously, alcohol has serious health effects, and its presence is generally not conducive to learning environments.

But young adults have to learn how to make choices for themselves regarding what they want to do with their bodies, and ultimately, they are responsible for those consequences — something a hangover or two teaches you.

It’s not like alcohol is going to disappear once you graduate. It’s at after-work happy hours and at basically every restaurant. Learning how to moderate your intake of alcohol is a valuable life skill.

Young people getting drunk is an inevitable result of their gaining autonomy and agency, but regulating their access to alcohol can make it more dangerous than it has to be.

When I lived at New Hall, I was a short walk away from a bar, where I could cross Farris Road, legally get plastered, and walk back, which seems more dangerous — not to mention, expensive — than just doing that in my bedroom.

Of course, if someone wasn’t a fan of the Bears Den, they could always drive to one of Conway’s other bars, get plastered there, and then drive back because Ubers are expensive and Conway’s buses stop operation at 8 p.m., which, again, feels more dangerous than just letting someone who is of age do that in their dorm with their of-age friends.

Getting drunk can inhibit someone’s judgment, so having a safe environment can be important in making sure someone who is intoxicated wakes up with nothing more than their stomach and head aching.

Easily, the UCA campus is the safest place in Conway to walk around with the amount of lighting and sidewalks, or the number of full-time police officers and blue emergency telephone poles.

UCA’s proximity to Conway Regional is pretty comforting, too.

There are also pretty flowers. But because it’s a dry campus, it’s not a safe or chill place to get or be drunk. 

Ultimately, college students are going to party if they want to. Not only is it silly to punish 21-year-olds for doing what young adults like to do, but restricting it might put them in avoidable danger.

These bans drive drinking underground, making it more likely to occur in unsupervised or unsafe environments, which could encourage binge drinking or drunk driving.

Instead of blanket restrictions, college campuses should take the opportunity to teach students about responsible drinking practices and promote a culture of harm reduction.