The least addressed issue of the Student Life Initiative may turn out to be one of the most controversial, with some of the proposals released by the Residential and Social Life Task Force calling for Safety and Security officers patrolling Greek houses and dormitories every day of the week, in addition to alcohol educational efforts and institutional changes.
The fifth principle, "The abuse and unsafe use of alcohol should be eliminated," attracted reports from several groups, most calling for a two prong attack on the drinking situation on campus. The proposals included in the Task Force Report ranged from "the College should take the stance that alcohol will always play into the lives of college students" to "social norms" at the College pressure students into drinking and should be addressed.
Most controversial would be the proposal from the Special College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs Subcommittee on Principle Five, representing College Proctor Bob McEwen, Assistant Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders and Dean of the Tucker Foundation Scott Brown, among others, and the Dean of the College Area Working Group representing, among others, Mary Liscinsky from the Office or Residential Life, Steve Cornish from the First Year Office and Acting Senior Associate Dean of the College Kate Burke.
Both proposals call for the expansion of the current Safety and Security monitoring system, where officers, accompanied by Coed Fraternity Sorority Council monitoring staff, enter Greek houses to check for violations of the alcohol policies.
The CCAOD proposes that officers "cover the entire campus, 24 hours a day, seven days per week." The committee also states that to accomplish this, "a minimum of six additional full-time Safety and Security Officers specifically designated for this purpose will be necessary."
Many of the Task Force Report proposals made direct connections between Greek organizations and drinking stating that "alcohol use on campus has its links to the Greek system, with many of the more popular functions at Greek houses involving alcohol."
To that end, the majority of the institutional changes recommended by different groups pertain to Greek houses. In the report, a suggestion given to reform current spaces so as to be "more conducive atmospheres for responsible social behavior" is for the College to pay to carpet the basements of houses.
An additional proposal, endorsed by the CFSC, the CCAOD, and the Dean's Working Group seeks to replace students with professional bartenders and bouncers at Tier III social events - those Greek parties open to the entire campus.
However, who would pay the professionals will be disputed. The CFSC, in their proposal, calls for the College to pay part if not all of the costs involved. The CCAOD was split on who should bear the costs, some saying the College, while others recommended that the sponsoring organization should pay. The Dean's Working Group called for the host organization to pay as well.
The CCAOD also split on whether students with bartending licenses should be eligible as bartenders. The report stated that "some members felt that students should not be in the position of serving students."
Every proposal addressing Principle Five concluded that education about safe drinking habits is key to accomplishing the goal detailed in Principle Five. The Task Force called for the College to "take a more active stance on educational programs as opposed to punitive actions."
The general consensus from different proposals was that educational programs should happen during every student's freshman year. Not only was there a call for increased education through the Undergraduate Advisor or the Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors, but some proposals called for new programs and new staff.
CCAOD suggests that all freshmen should be required to complete 12 hours of alcohol and drug education during their first year at the College. The punishment for not completing the Alcohol and Other Drugs program would be ineligibility to graduate.
To service the program, CCAOD suggests that the College create several full-time staff positions at the "professional and staff levels" to support the program. Health Resources staff should also be augmented with additional staff and the College should hire one "full-time professional evaluation and research staffer ... to enable comprehensive and on-going assessments of [alcohol and other drugs] efforts and the effectiveness of the social norms approach.
The CFSC proposal was consistent with other proposals, calling for increased educational initiatives, but lacked the significant number of new staff positions suggested by the other administrative proposal.
The CFSC called for "a general shift in the philosophy of the College's alcohol policies from that of containment to that of prevention." The CFSC proposal suggests that any educational initiative taken by the College to address "the problems that can arise in gender relations as a result of the abuse and unsafe use of alcohol."
The Five Principles Working Groups also included many proposals to deal with education, also concentrating on "social norms" as a problem. In addition to more educational experiences, the Working Groups called for stricter enforcement of College rules to keep "students empowered."
