It is common knowledge at Cairn that once you choose to attend this university, you have to sign a covenant, an agreement between the student and the university. There is one point in particular that causes some discordance between the students.

Undergraduate students, and only undergraduate students, are not allowed to drink alcohol on or off campus. Everyone else is allowed to drink alcohol off campus only. Everyone. Now, what do you think? Is it fair? Most students think it’s a good rule to have as part of the covenant, not because they believe drinking is wrong, but because undergraduate students can’t be trusted with drinking. How many students can say that they know how to drink responsibly?

Drinking age in the United States is 21, when most students are juniors, only one year away from graduation. So some students wonder, why not allow those over 21 to drink off campus? When people in our generation turn 21, they tend to go on a drinking binge, even Christians. “People can wait until they graduate to drink again. It’s not a pressing need, and if it is, then there’s something else going on with the person,” a student voiced his opinion when asked during dinner time. “You can’t trust students with drinking because most of them aren’t taught how to drink. It’s one of the main reasons why college can be so crazy in a negative way,” commentated another student. Some rules are just placed to protect us from ourselves, from bad choices we might make, and from hurting others around us unintentionally.

Remember the Israelites and the Law they received from God? There are so many things in that ancient law that we do not understand. Why would God not tell the Israelites to not eat pork? Why would he deprive them of the beauty of bacon? God had his reasons: to protect them from sickness, to help them lead a healthier and cleaner lifestyle, to set them apart, etc. This is what Cairn is doing in their own way. Eventually, the covenant changed, and Israel could eat anything, clean or unclean, as it was shown to Peter in a vision. In the same way, you’ll be able to drink once you graduate, the covenant will not bind you anymore. The pubs and bars aren’t going anywhere.

“People would just go crazy if they were allowed to drink,” one Cairn students commented. “Things would go out of control and we wouldn’t be representing Christ accordingly in our school.” So, what do you think? Would Cairn University still represent Christ accordingly if they permitted their students to drink off campus? Or should the university simply apply state laws in this matter? Just some food for thought.