The College's Task Force on Alcohol, in its report released by Dean of the College Lee Pelton in late August, recommended 33 ways for Dartmouth to reduce the importance of alcohol on campus, including the possible revision of its "keg formula."
The Task Force's report also recommends the hiring of an evaluator to examine alcohol at the College, the possibility of making Asgard, a substance-free social organization, into an undergraduate society and keeping College facilities such as the Collis Center and Baker Library open later on weekends.
The Task Force, which was formed by Pelton at the beginning of Spring term and charged with the consideration of the problems and implications of alcohol at Dartmouth, delivered its report to Pelton in June.
Pelton, who could not be reached for comment, is reviewing the recommendations and will decide whether or not to implement any changes.
Gabrielle Lucke, Director of Health Resources and a member of the Education Subcommittee said she thinks the recommendations made by the Task Force will have an important effect on College life.
"I feel good about them. The important part about it for us is to be sure that efforts and energy invested are beneficial," she said.
The Task Force, chaired by Emily Jones '95 and Director of College Health Services Dr. Jack Turco, was composed of 23 members -- 10 administrators and 13 undergraduates split among four subcommittees -- Education, Policy, Institutional Issues and Student Life. The report includes recommendations from each of the four subcommittees.
The Policy Subcommittee recommended that the College consider changing its keg formula to take into account the total number of kegs on campus as opposed to the number of kegs at a single organization. Under the current policy, the number of kegs a single organization can have is based on the number of students on campus that are 21 or older.
The Policy subcommittee also studied the roles of the Hanover Police, the Department of Safety and Security, and the Dean's Office in the alcohol policy, including "Dick's House inpatient department costs for the care of inebriates, the 'Good Samaritan' policy, the Freshman Visitation policy, the role of CFS alcohol monitors, and specific issues in the CFS Social Procedures report."
The subcommittee discussed the severely punitive reputation of many of the College's alcohol policies and recommended "efforts toward more effective education" in confronting misconceptions among students regarding Dick's House costs and the role of Safety and Security and the Dean's Office.
The report did not recommend any concrete changes to the administration's role and stated that although the status quo regarding Dick's House is "highly undesirable," it had "neither the time nor the resources available to make a responsible recommendation" regarding costs.
The Institutional Issues Subcommittee studied issues that are not covered in the College's alcohol policy, but peripherally deal with alcohol, such as residential life.
The most important of the Institutional Issues subcommittee's proposals concerned Asgard and Butterfield Hall, the College's substance-free residence hall.
The subcommittee recommended that Asgard publicly and physically separate itself from Butterfield.
The report stated that currently many students receive the wrong impression that membership in Asgard is a requirement for housing in Butterfield or vice versa.
According to the 30-page report, this confusion leads students to "hesitate to apply to live in Butterfield because of the perception that Asgard is an exclusive group composed of people with similar social interests."
The report stated that one possible way for the separation to occur "is for Asgard to become an undergraduate society."
But the subcommittee also stated in its report that it did not fully endorse the change in Asgard's status because freshmen and coed, fraternity and sorority members would be excluded.
The subcommittee also suggested that the College's Board of Trustees issue an institution- wide directive regarding alcohol.
The Education Subcommittee recommended nine ways for the College to better address alcohol issues in terms of student awareness and knowledge.
The subcommittee suggested the College undergo a "systematic and comprehensive" evaluation of alcohol on campus and that the College hire an evaluator who will stay on campus for an extended period to get an encompassing view of life at Dartmouth.
"Because consulting groups only spend a few days on campus, we feel that recommendations made by such a group would be based on superficial knowledge," the subcommittee stated in its report.
The subcommittee suggested that "the persons conducting the evaluation should be both trustworthy and competent to perform the evaluation, so that the evaluation findings achieve maximum credibility and acceptance."
The Student Life Subcommittee addressed proposals aimed at de-emphasizing the importance of alcohol as a social option in the Dartmouth community.
The report recommended that various campus locations close later on weekend nights, including Collis, Thayer Dining Hall and Baker's Reserve Corridor, and that campus locations be made more accessible for student events on weekends.
The subcommittee stated in the report that this would help increase the number of social options available to students who would otherwise be prone to spend weekends drinking.
The Task Force included Lucke, Assistant Deans of Residential Life Alison Keefe and Deborah Reinders, Senior Associate Dean of the College Daniel Nelson, Program Evaluator for Health Resources John Pryor, Dean of Freshmen Peter Goldsmith, Proctor Robert McEwen, Director of Student Activities Tim Moore and Associate Director for Dining Services Tucker Rossiter.
The students on the committee were Dani Brune '96, Calvin Daniels '96, Anthony Foglia '97, Kimberly Guest '96, Matthew Herman '98, Michael Kidd '95, Michele Lamberti '97, David Leonard '95, Jonathan Schaum '95, Matthew Sweet '98, Shervyn von Hoerl '96 and Kimberly Williams '96.
