This morning, I was talking to a fellow student about the abundance of alcohol paraphernalia on campus.

It was a good discussion, but when she got up to leave, I noticed something. She was wearing a shirt that exclaimed, 'You sink 'em, I drink 'em.'

The irony of the situation is obvious. However, this indicates a scary and vicious trend on this campus.

I expect to see a myriad of pajama bottoms and sweat pants in my classes. I don't expect or want to see shirts that proclaim 'Absolut Ghetto' and 'Heineken: A UD tradition.' My personal favorite declares, 'UD: A drinking institution with a Learning Problem.'

This university is in the middle of an academic excellence campaign, and yet, the drinking culture is so ingrained in the minds of some students that they feel the need to proudly flaunt it wherever they go. These very students, while reading this article, will say, 'It's my right to wear these shirts,' or, 'I have freedom of expression,' or even, 'Those T-shirts are funny.'

Yes, everyone has freedom of expression. But what are the implications of these T-shirts? What do these shirts even mean? Is there a point to the shirts other than lowering the value of a UD education? How can something as seemingly innocuous as a T-shirt devalue the UD diploma? Read on, and I will enlighten you.

Those very T-shirts reinforce a negative and even destructive culture. Those T-shirts proclaim to everyone who visits or attends UD that drinking is everywhere.

Students wear these T-shirts back to their home towns.

Hypothetically, a student from Wisconsin is home for Christmas break. He is walking around the mall, shopping for Christmas presents. People at home notice him and say, 'Oh, he goes to UD. That's such a party school.'

Those people in Wisconsin don't know anything about UD; they only know what they saw on that T-shirt.

This year, UD is ranked No. 4 in the Princeton Review for 'Lots of Beer.' Are we proud of this? Are we proud that, as a community, our reputation for parties outweighs our academic work? Those T-shirts say we are.

I am not.

What bothers me the most is these T-shirts are created by a university entity, Flyer Enterprises. According to the Flyer Enterprises mission statement, as seen on their website, 'Flyer Enterprises shall embrace the ideals of community, leadership, service and learning.'

Flyer Enterprises is not complying with the above stipulations by marketing alcohol paraphernalia in various forms. It is unethical for them to promote this type of activity among students when they claim to have a commitment to the community.

Perhaps Flyer Enterprises is attempting to cater to a certain market with these T-shirts. Yet, there are just as many students in the library on Thursday nights as there are students partying in the Ghetto.

Flyer Enterprises does not create positive shirts that exclaim, 'I studied and got an A,' or, 'I fed the homeless today.'

Why not?

If the kid in the back of my Sociology class can wear a T-shirt that fully explains why he comes to an afternoon class hung over, than why not make T-shirts for the rest of us who chose not to promote this kind of behavior.

I am not trying to devalue Flyer Enterprises.

The Blend, The Galley and ArtStreet Cafe provide a service that caters to the UD community as a whole. Everyone enjoys good food and good coffee.

However, these T-shirts have to go. Flyer Enterprises is not doing itself or the UD community justice by creating, marketing and selling these shirts.