With Winter Carnival just around the corner, Kappa Kappa Gamma and the Panhellenic Council hosted a discussion about the repercussions of drinking at Dartmouth. Kappa was required to hold the panel as part of the house's disciplinary sanctions due to alcohol violations committed during an initiation event this fall.
"It's part of our sanctions, although it's something we value outside of that," Kappa President Whitney Dickerson '07 said.
"After some of the events of last term, we thought that it was important to get the word out about responsible drinking," Lauren Edgar '07, Kappa's programming chair and the event organizer, said.
The panel featured Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone, Director of Safety and Security Harry Kinne, Dick's House's Alcohol and Other Drugs Program coordinator Brian Bowden, Associate Director of Student Activities Linda Kennedy and Assistant Director of Undergraduate Judicial Affairs Ceceilia Pearson.
The administrators participated in a question-and-answer formatted discussion that also included Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson as a member of the audience who occasionally jumped in to answer student questions.
One of the issues brought up dealt with the prevalence of non-Dartmouth students who come up for weekends like Winter Carnival. Many of these students are not aware of the function of Dartmouth's Safety and Security and try to evade them at all costs.
"We had an incident a couple of years ago at Tom Dent Cabin, where students from another school thought it was the best idea to hide their [intoxicated] friend in the bushes," Kennedy said.
"If a Dartmouth student hadn't been there [to contact Safety and Security], it would have been tragic."
The Good Samaritan policy, however, is not applicable to those not affiliated with the College, so they will not be exempt from enduring legal censure. Giaccone, however, emphasized the fact that legally the person will only be charged with a violation, which is not considered a criminal offence.
"Unlawful possession of alcohol is just a violation -- it's the same class as a speeding ticket," Giaccone said. "Lots of times people will take great effort to avoid detection or arrest, thinking that it's way more serious [than it is]."
For students old enough to legally consume alcohol, there are still legal risks associated with drinking, Giaccone said.
"If they facilitate a gathering [involving alcohol] with more than five people present, and one or more is under 21, that's a misdemeanor under New Hampshire law," he said.
Driving under the influence for those below and above 21 is also a serious offence, which results in a virtually automatic suspension from the College in addition to the legal ramifications.
Open containers are prohibited by both Hanover and the College.
Intoxication, regardless of age, cannot be used as a defense for other misbehaviors.
"We just had a very serious case where a person who was 21, because of his intoxication, went into a private residence, went upstairs, took his clothes off, and got in bed with a 14-year-old girl," Giaccone said. That is really serious. The fact that he was 21 and intoxicated is not a defense."
Under the duty-to-care concept, police officers may take people over the age of 21 into police custody -- not in the form of an arrest, but for the sake of protecting them and others. In these cases, individuals will not face any legal troubles unless they resist being taken in to custody.
"The courts recently ruled that if a person's going into civil detention because of alcohol and that person resists, that becomes a crime for resisting," Giaccone said.
Students appearing before the Committee on Standards for alcohol-related violations is common, Pearson said, but that does not mean that students are getting in serious trouble for their first alcohol offences.
"In alcohol-related cases, there are usually multiple alcohol violations that include additional behaviors. We take underage drinking and public intoxication seriously but you aren't getting Parkhursted for these things," Pearson said.
The Good Samaritan policy applies to the intoxicated student and the student calling the Good Samaritan, but only erases the alcohol policy violation, and requires the student to be compliant with the recommendations of the Dean later on -- usually a group education program.
"If you choose to punch me in the face, you're still responsible for hitting me, but not for the alcohol violation," Pearson said.
The caller does not have to use the words "Good Samaritan" for the policy to apply.
If a student calls from a Greek organization but is not a member of that house, whether that house will be applicable for a Good Samaritan is determined on a case by case basis, depending on the extent to which the organization was contributing to or concerned about the intoxicated individual.
