One week into Fall term, students and Safety and Security officers are calling the monitoring system of the new alcohol policy a success.
The system -- by which a team, made up of a Safety and Security officer and a student monitor, enters registered social events -- was in place for three registered parties over the weekend. This was the first time the policy has been in effect with all four classes on campus.
Safety and Security Officer Bobby Young and David Dexter '00 monitored Friday's party at Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity and Saturday's parties at Alpha Delta and Sigma Epsilon Alpha fraternities.
Dexter, who also monitored registered parties with Young during Summer term, said this weekend was the first time the policy has been actually tested.
"The summer was more of an induction period," Dexter said. "It was a lot easier since there were no kegs on campus."
College Proctor Robert McEwen said the monitoring team "reported seeing nothing that was not consistent with the College policy for a registered social event" at any of the three parties.
Coed, Fraternity and Sorority Events Manager Adam Seigel '00 -- who is responsible for arranging the monitoring teams -- said the weekend was "a major success."
Seigel said the presidents and social chairs of the fraternities "deserve a lot of credit" for the fact that the parties this past weekend went without major incident.
Dexter also credited the fraternity officers, who he said "knew exactly what was to be expected of them and presented their houses very well."
Seigel said Young was largely responsible for the success of the monitoring system during Summer term and over the weekend.
Young was the Safety and Security monitor for all nine of the registered parties during Summer term.
Young "has done a great job and built up a level of trust with the students. That's something we really need to get this policy working," Seigel said. "Bobby is very easy to trust and he works with students to point out things that need to be fixed."
Deb Reinders, assistant dean of residential life, said that judging by what she heard from student leaders and Safety and Security, she was pleased with the effectiveness of the monitoring system.
"It seems to be a collaborative effort with the student leaders," Reinders said. "To me that measures a successful weekend."
Reinders said she attributes the apparent success of the monitoring system to the manner in which the new campus alcohol policy was formulated last spring.
"The policy was written by students in consultation with the College," Reinders said. "I think students feel an ownership of this policy."
The policy, created by the Coed, Fraternity and Sorority Council with the help of Reinders, McEwen and Director of Health Resources Gabrielle Lucke, called for teams of Safety and Security and student monitors to inspect Greek house basements for underage drinkers and crowding, among other violations.
Then Dean of the College Lee Pelton allowed the CFSC to create the new alcohol policy after considering both the report of the College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs -- which called for a stricter policy -- and the CFSC's responses to that report.
Seigel said the new policy really is different than the one in place last year.
"It's no longer a door monitor," Seigel said. "Now it's a monitoring team."
Paul Killebrew '99, president of SAE, said his fraternity had "no problems at all" with the monitoring system during their party Saturday night and said the system "seems pretty good to me."
"As long as the College is happy with it, I think we're satisfied" Killebrew said, although he said the new policy will be evaluated at the end of the term.
Seigel said he thinks "it has the potential to work."
