This month, Residential Education (ResEd) officials said they had put housed fraternity Kappa Sigma on provisional alcohol and party suspension for conduct and possible policy violations during New Student Orientation.

Also this month, Nate Boswell, associate director of ResEd on the Row, sent an e-mail to all Row staff members asking them to be extra vigilant that weekend because of the “unusually high number of student medical transports” this year.

And on Monday, Ralph Castro, manager of the Substance Abuse Prevention Program at Vaden Health Center, said in the beginning weeks of fall quarter, 16 students were transported to the hospital for alcohol-related incidents. It represents an increased rate from the 61 total transports during the 2009-10 school year.

Combining this data with the rise in problematic alcohol usage on campus from 2008 to 2009 (the most recent years for which data is available) shows a disturbing trend emerging. Does Stanford have a drinking problem?

Stanford’s attitude toward alcohol use on campus is unique. At our peer institutions, the ban on underage drinking is strictly enforced, leading to a culture of drinking behind closed doors.

On the Farm, officials repeat that the University does not condone the breaking of underage-drinking law. The controlled substances and alcohol policy says as much. Implicit “is the understanding that students are responsible for making their own decisions and accepting the consequences of those decisions,” the University says.

But students and dorm staff tend to abide by an unofficial “open-door policy,” which holds that some underage students will choose to drink, and when they do, it is safer they drink in a non-clandestine manner.

So students consume alcoholic beverages in their rooms, with doors open, and generally do not fear hostility at the hands of their dorm staffers. This is one of the reasons why the Stanford freshmen-year experience is virtually unsurpassed across the country.

Critics have decried this practice because they believe it enables students to engage in self-destructive behavior. Meanwhile, proponents of this stance laud the University and its functionaries for treating students as responsible adults capable of making their own decisions, helping to remove the stigma that affects drinking at other universities.

What do recent events mean for the campus social culture? Should sheriffs be stationed on the Lower Row every Friday and Saturday night? Should resident assistants be held personally responsible for their residents’ actions? Should every student be required to take AlcoholEdu again?

The editorial board thinks that these are all extreme measures, but there is cause for concern. The situation hasn’t progressed to the point that such actions are required at this time, but if this trend continues, these options might be on the table.

The editorial board believes that all Stanford students are capable of making their own decisions and that they should be held responsible for those decisions. It is disappointing that more students this year are abusing this freedom, but it is not too late for us as a campus to change direction and adopt a more responsible attitude toward drinking.

To the freshmen, most of whom are experiencing unprecedented levels of personal freedom: knowing your limits is important, and it is better to approach them slowly rather than to pass and see them behind you. To the upperclassmen: whether you like it or not, students look to you as examples to follow, so please set a good one. We should be able to sort this out on our own.