President Pastides calls for responsibility during spring break activities
To our University community:
Several times this year I was required to do one of the most onerous things a university president has to do: I called to offer my sympathy and the thoughts and prayers of our campus to parents who lost children — children who were our students and part of our greater Carolina family.
I won’t review the tragic events of the year to date, but we all share the pain and the hardship of losing these precious souls. We must all do our individual and collective part to mitigate the high-risk behaviors we see on campus and throughout our communities. We have grown larger here at USC and, with this growth, we have added to our awareness programming, shuttle services and orientation education about the effects of abuse.
Further, a host of other outstanding student organizations help us to help others understand that there is never a good outcome for the abuse of drugs and excessive alcohol consumption. And yet, we lose valuable lives and disrupt our communities because all do not take heed.
Along with a number of other university and college presidents, I serve on a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism working group. Through this organization and other activities, I hope to contribute to the well-being of students in colleges throughout our nation. I will also bring back to our campus all the best practices that I may learn about.
With this letter I join The Daily Gamecock in appealing for students to engage in wider conversation and to help the administration and faculty reject the culture of excess. Tailgating and social events that are managed responsibility are and should be part of the college experience. High-risk behavior and overindulgence should not.
Finally, educational programs cannot take the place of personal responsibility. Please, look out for yourselves and the well-being of others when they are putting themselves in harm’s way. Take care of each other and remember that we are family here at Carolina.
As we near spring break, have fun. Don’t take risks and please look out for other people. You have wonderful years ahead. Don’t cut them short.