The actions of the Cambridge Police Department regarding the first-years unlucky enough to stumble into a sting operation seems absurd but, more unfortunately, indicates general Harvard policy. This policy seems all too interested in liability and saving face in the public eye, and too easily forgets that those involved, the students, truly suffer.

This policy results in the jailing of two first-years, splashed across the front pages of the newspaper while thousands of others drink themselves into oblivion at numerous tailgates. The policy does nothing to protect the safety or reputation of the students--all it does is make Harvard appear above the fray.

Harvard should stop worrying about appearances and concentrate on providing real protection for its students. It recognizes, in its official statement regarding alcohol, that the final clubs are one place of frequent inebriation, yet the clubs are conveniently outside of its jurisdiction (and concurrently outside its liability). It is time for Harvard to create a policy that truly protects its students, not one that ends with them locked up in handcuffs. --Eli B. Richlin '01