News
Enforcement of alcohol policy becomes more stringent, consistent
By Jordyn Taylor ’12
September 22, 2011
Over the past few weeks, there have been murmurs amongst Hamilton students regarding alleged crack-downs on alcohol policy. With RAs making double the usual number of rounds on weekend nights and campus safety officers making appearances at parties in social spaces and dorms, many students are assuming that Hamilton is implementing new, stricter rules.
“I heard that Campus Safety is going to attend every party and grab ten random students holding drinks and verify their ages,” said Madison Forsander ’14. “If one person is under 21 they get in trouble, and if over half are under 21, the social host gets in trouble.”
In order for students to better adhere to the guidelines of Hamilton’s drinking culture, Hamilton’s alcohol policy needs to be clarified.
The most fundamental thing that students should know is that Hamilton’s alcohol policy is no different now than it was last year. Rather, Campus Safety, Residential Life and Student Activities are now working more adamantly than before to enforce Hamilton’s already-existing rules. It’s likely that students are assuming there are changes in Hamilton’s alcohol policy because they simply aren’t used to Campus Safety officers and RAs taking such an active role in campus law-enforcement as they have been this school year.
“[The need for change] has more to do with this feeling that it’s a free-for-all,” said Lisa Magnarelli ’96, associate dean of students for engagement and leadership. “The Alcohol Coalition, in particular, felt that the only way to really get a handle on [negative effects of student drinking] was to spend more time focusing on enforcement.”
For Campus Safety, a more active role will mean checking in at all-campus parties and—in between those check-ins—making rounds of other buildings across campus. They’ll also be documenting every policy violation they encounter, even if students are compliant and dump out open containers.
“It’s not that I took away the discretion of the officers,” said Director of Campus Safety Fran Manfredo. “It’s that I asked them to be consistent in their enforcement of the alcohol policy.”
Manfredo also pointed out that consistent enforcement creates a safer campus, and that “if [Campus Safety] is being consistent, everybody feels like they’re being treated the same.”
To add to Campus Safety’s increased vigilance, RAs are making two rounds on weekend nights, instead of the just one. By patrolling dorms at 10 p.m. and midnight, Assistant Dean of Students for Residential Life and Chair of the Alcohol Coalition Travis Hill believes they will be better able to monitor parties in residence halls. Like Campus Safety officers, RAs will not be exercising discretion when they come across policy violations. Hill said, “The expectation has always been—as long as I’ve been here—that RAs confront everything in terms of policy violations and that they document violations as appropriate.”
Finally, with regard to student activities, Magnarelli wants to ensure that all student social hosts are strictly adhering to student activities’ guidelines. Magnarelli said, “We have to make sure the hosting organization has got a table set up, that they’re checking IDs, that they’re giving out bracelets, that the people working the kegs are only giving beer to the people with bracelets and they’re not just letting anybody help themselves.”
Along with changing the way the alcohol policy is enforced on campus, Hamilton also changed the first-years’ orientation alcohol program. In previous years, students attended lectures by Hill, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Bob Kazin and Associate Dean of Students for Health and Safety Jeff Landry. The presentation examined surveys on Hamilton’s drinking culture. This year, first-years instead watched a film called Haze, a graphic documentation of a student’s tragic alcohol-related death. The film screening was followed by a panel discussion with representatives from the faculty and student body.
With this new approach to alcohol education, first-years had a more personal—and hopefully more impactful—lesson on the dangers of binge drinking. In addition, returning students will notice that pre-existing policy is being enforced more stringently this year than ever before. This intensification of policy enforcement is intended to ensure a safer drinking culture and a safer campus as a whole.