At this week's community forum on the College's Social Event Management Procedure, suggestions varied, but all agreed that some change in the party registration protocol is necessary. Some called for more flexible "same night" party registration, others for a streamlining of the SEMP code to make it easier to understand. Many returned to the issue of limits and restrictions on kegs. But all agreed that the copious amounts of red tape surrounding the College's social event registration process must be eliminated.
The committee has considered suggestions that would make it easier for organizations -- most significantly, fraternities and sororities -- to register parties. This will inevitably result in more registered parties and thus more Safety and Security officers walking through fraternity and sorority basements. While the organizations themselves fear increased Safety and Security surveillance, it is ultimately in the best interest of student health and safety, If the College and fraternities alike were more honest with each other, perhaps the environment of mistrust could be broken and similar alcohol policy discussions in the future could be more productive.
The College simply wants to protect students from dangerous alcohol consumption and follow the law, doing whatever it can to prevent underage students from drinking -- clearly it doesn't just want to play Grinch all the time. But many strict regulations miss the reality and the real danger that alcohol poses on campus. Predominately underage students have taken to "pre-gaming" in their own rooms, drinking large amounts of hard alcohol before going out to a Greek house where the alcohol does not flow as easily and the drinks aren't as strong. This presents a dangerous health risk. Were the College to look at the reality on a campus such as ours -- where underage students do drink and cannot be stopped from drinking -- it would focus its attention on solving the more dangerous problem of pre-gaming. While stricter enforcement of underage drinking regulations in dorms is the first step, a more workable option would be to increase keg limits at parties and re-evaluate the serving calculations in the SEMP code. This would bring alcohol consumption out into the open, where it can be effectively monitored by other students and Safety and Security alike.
A more liberal SEMP policy might put the College in a difficult position, however. Increasing party alcohol caps would invite legal reprisal from New Hampshire state liquor officials. Despite the fact that all at Dartmouth are aware of widespread underage drinking, this would be an official, if tacit, acknowledgement of that illegal activity. Given the current focus of on-campus alcohol regulations, enforcing the national legal drinking age and protecting the safety of Dartmouth students may be two antithetical goals.
