I'd like to offer you my congratulations on your landslide victory this Monday. A lot of students -- myself included -- are really excited to see how you will continue and improve on Molly Bode's great work as student body president.
As you get to work on a host of issues this spring, I want to bring your attention to a campus concern that nearly every candidate that has ever run for student body president in recent history has addressed: the need to reform Dartmouth's underage drinking policy.
Frankly, while the Assembly has been doing important work with alternative social spaces, I've yet to see anything done to protect underage students who face legal trouble because of alcohol violations.
Worse yet, this campus is plagued by ignorance and misinformation about the punishment students can face for underage drinking. Rumors run rampant about the potential differences between "getting caught" by Hanover Police and Safety and Security, and students are wholly confused about what kind of penalties could arise from using the Good Samaritan policy.
Obviously, addressing alcohol violations on campus is an incredibly complex issue, and a large part of the problem -- state and federal law -- is entirely out of the Assembly's hands. But at the very minimum, Student Assembly should be educating students about the risks inherent in underage drinking.
Allow me to list a few lesser-known consequences for underage drinking:
-- Hanover police officers whocatch students stumbling on their way home often arrest the students for "internal possession," without even performing a breathalyzer test.
-- If a student is sent to Dick's House under the Good Sam program, but is so drunk that he or she needs to be transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, then that student is liable for arrest. During sophomore summer, Dick's House is closed in the evenings and all Good Sam'med students are automatically sent to DHMC, where they are charged with alcohol violations by Hanover Police.
Naturally, these policies should be cause for concern. Arresting a drunk student trying to make it safely to bed only encourages underage drinkers to remain in unsafe environments -- like rowdy, booze-laden fraternity basements -- where they can hide from Hanover Police. And removing the impunity from the Good Sam program leads to students thinking twice before calling for help in a life-threatening situation.
Thus, the approach you should take as student body president is two-pronged. First, make campus aware of all of the risks inherent in underage drinking. Publish and mass-distribute a comprehensive booklet on Hanover and Dartmouth alcohol policy, outlining everything from students' rights when confronting the police to the potential outcomes of throwing a dorm party. Many of our futures -- especially in this economic crisis, where hiring has never been so competitive -- are dependent on graduating from Dartmouth with a clean record. By empowering students to defend their rights and make educated decisions about drinking, you can literally change the course of their entire lives.
Second, work with the College administration to address issues that can be solved by changing campus policy: maximize Safety and Security's jurisdiction, and work with the the Town of Hanover to improve the effectiveness of the Good Sam program.
While the effect you can have on underage drinking laws may seem minimal, do not underestimate the power of an educated student body. Ignorance stifles dissent -- if students were actually aware of how unjust and irrational the law really is, outrage would almost surely ensue, and that anger could be channeled into political action.
As student body president, you will certainly have a lot of tasks before you, and Dartmouth's alcohol problems will probably not be solved in one year. Nevertheless, I hope that we can see the Assembly take some meaningful steps towards educating the student body and reducing the risks associated with underage drinking.
