Student Body President Janos Marton '04 reported progress made on student-proposed reforms to the College's Alcohol Policy at last night's Student Assembly meeting.
Marton and the other committee members -- including Rollo Begley '04. Elisheva Hirshman-Green '04, Frederica Ghesquiere '04 and Kevin Mazur '04 -- began working several weeks ago to allow persons to register parties directly through Safety and Security rather than first going through the Office of Residential Life.
The students completed their efforts by drafting a "tentative" party registration form and passing it on to Professor of Public Policy Robert Binswanger, who initiated the project and will now bring the draft to ORL and Safety and Security.
Under the committee's proposal, after potential party hosts filled out the BlitzMail registration form for the first time, they would be required to meet with Safety and Security to respond to any questions and concerns.
If the party in question avoids trouble such as medical problems and underage drinking, then the hosts would face lessened scrutiny from Safety and Security while registering for subsequent parties.
Marton expressed optimism that the new system, which he expects to meet with approval from both ORL and Safety and Security, might lead to the appearance of parties in dormitories with large numbers of upper-class residents.
The registration form itself requires applicants to report the number of attendees expected and presence of any alcohol and to list the location, date, time frame and names of hosts (persons who would bear responsibility if anything went wrong) and "monitors" (persons serving alcohol).
In other business, while discussing ongoing efforts to assist Career Services in improving their visibility among students, members tossed around the idea of instituting a "best administrator" award or ranking the College's administrative offices, just as the Assembly currently ranks academic departments and presents teaching awards.
The Assembly also heard progress updates on the Dining Guide and Mugshots. Alleviating the financial burden of putting out Mugshots -- last year the Assembly absorbed roughly half of the original $9,000 spent -- is an issue members will have to face during the Fall term, when the publications are offered to students.
Mugshots' costs, which Vice Chair Steve Zyck '04 described as "rather enormous," are caused in part by the Assembly's desire to keep the selling price to students at a moderate level.
Last year the Assembly sold each copy for $10, though the production cost ran at $14.
Marton also explained the newly-created "SA Domestic Study Program," which will send one member next winter or spring on a ten-week off term commitment in which a student will travel across the country observing student governments at numerous college campuses.
This intern, selected through an application submitted to the Assembly, will conclude his or her work by submitting a report detailing what policies and structures among similar bodies are and are not effective.