For several years now, students have complained about Dartmouth's misguided alcohol policy, and the changes presented last January only exacerbated the administration's rift with reality. While several minor improvements have been made, it is worth highlighting one of the more nonsensical rules to emerge in the wake of the Student Life Initiative -- the ban on unregistered kegs.
Arguments in favor of kegs abound. Because each keg serves around 150 drinks, each keg saves 150 cans from being thrown out and wasted. Details concerning the environmental benefits of kegs have been laid out by ECO, particularly Andrew Hoffman '05 and Sally Newman '05, whose arguments have been cogently presented to various administrators.
Environmentalism aside, the College also turns its back on safety. When alcohol is consumed from one source, like a keg, it is easier to manage the flow of alcohol, whereas cans scatter in cases around basements for anyone to take or steal.
There is also the issue of alcohol consumption -- the College recognizes the right for Greek organizations to serve beer to students of legal drinking age up to a certain number, at which point a party must be registered. Currently, that number stands at 40 students. Thus, if every one of those students drank one beer per hour for four hours, 160 beers (enough to kick a keg) would be consumed without warranting the party's registration. Thus, the amount of alcohol in a keg is legal, while a keg is not.
I didn't know where to start with a policy that defies environmentalism, fairness, consistency and safety, but I correctly presumed that the issue of safety is paramount to the College's interests. When I introduced the idea that kegs promote safety to Dean Larimore, he seemed disdainful, citing "a reputable study" which claimed that beer flows faster from kegs, and is therefore more difficult to manage.
I countered that anyone who has been to a Dartmouth party knows that it is much easier to serve people through tossing cans at them then filling up cups from kegs. Dean Larimore smiled and noted that my empirical observations could hardly compare to an official study.
So I went to Health Services in search of this elusive study. When I spoke with people there I was told that while there was no "official" study, they were sure they could "dig something up" to prove that kegs were dangerous. After all, it was common knowledge.
While I was on the brink of complete exasperation, Linda Kennedy from the Student Activities office noted that at many schools, multiple kegs are tapped simultaneously during parties, such that six or 10 kegs flow at once, potentially creating a hazardous drinking environment.
At Dartmouth, this is not the case, as the social event management procedure only permits one keg to be tapped at once, at the risk of being put on probation like Psi U. Thus, the "common knowledge" and "official studies" are somewhat irrelevant.
There is no way to argue that when one keg is tapped at a time, it is easier to manage (read: safer) cans than kegs. When I pointed this out to administrators, no one could offer a solid answer, until one finally sighed that there was no point wasting time on this issue, as the Board of Trustees were resolute on removing kegs from campus. Permitting organizations to possess even a single keg without registration would undermine this goal.
So there it was -- everyone's worst suspicions about the Board of Trustees, confirmed. Or so I thought until I actually spoke with several of them. One two-term member summed up the consensus opinion on this issue, telling me I didn't have a clear understanding of what the Board of Trustees spends its time doing.
"I don't think we've even discussed alcohol policy once since I've been on the Board of Trustees," she confidently remarked. "That's definitely an issue that belongs in the Dean of the College area."
So who wields the authority to change this backward policy? It is obvious that whether the responsibility falls under Dean Larimore's jurisdiction or somewhere on high, no one is all that interested in re-examining it without student agitation. But someone must answer the basic question of why possessing a single keg without registering it is illegal.
Keg violations are a major source of Greek discipline; in this past year Theta Delt, SAE, and Tri-Kap were all placed on probation for having a single unregistered keg. If students are being punished so routinely for such an innocuous offense, someone from the administration must justify this keg policy, in the name of fairness, environmentalism and safety.
