On Monday, Stanford University announced that it will no longer allow hard liquor at campus parties. Beer and wine will still be permitted, but anything that has more than 20% alcohol by volume will not be permitted. Any bottle of hard liquor over 750 milliliters will also no longer be permitted in dorms and common areas. It has been questioned if this decided new rule is related to the infamous Brock Turner rape case that occurred two months ago. The swimmer was only sentenced to six months for intent to commit rape after sexually assaulting a woman.

While a spokesperson for the university denied any relation, Michelle Dauber, Stanford University law professor, tweeted "Sadly, @stanford appears to agree with #BrockTurner that "alcohol" and "party culture" are to blame for his conduct," in response to the policy change. Turner had claimed earlier that he was introduced to partying and hard alcohol after arriving at Stanford.

Unfortunately, a hard liquor ban will do nothing to further ensure the safety of students on campus in regards to sexual assault. Students will undeniably continue to drink hard liquor in secret at pre-games and even continue at on-campus parties due to the impossibility of the University to successfully enforce the ban.

Hard liquor is also not to blame for the sexual assault epidemic among college campuses. The solution lies in the attitude of universities towards sexual assault on campus and how seriously they handle it. A ban of hard liquor only feeds into the excuses predators such as Brock Turner use to explain away their actions instead of taking responsibility. They blame party culture, alcohol and sometimes even the victim.

The woman that was sexually assaulted by Turner did not decide her fate by the amount of liquor she drank. It was already decided in the sickness of Turner's mind. Those thoughts are not brought on or fueled by intoxication, the use of drugs or even party culture. They were always present.