Correction Appended
The Hanover Police Department will no longer automatically arrest underage students who receive medical attention for alcohol overconsumption if they are eligible for the Alcohol Diversions Program, according to a message sent by acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears to the Dartmouth community Thursday evening.
According to the announcement, Hanover Police will continue to assist emergency personnel responding to ambulance calls, but instead of arresting students, officers will provide these individuals with information about Diversions. Students must enroll in the program within seven days to avoid a citation.
When asked if Hanover Police would still arrest intoxicated individuals seeking medical attention who are not eligible for Diversions, Spears said she did not have any information on the subject. Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone was not available for comment by press time.
The record of students who participate in Diversions will be kept at the Hanover Police station, according to interim associate Dean of the College Harry Kinne. Because any student who completes the Diversion program is not referred for prosecution, there will be "no record of [the offense] beyond that," Kinne said.
Under the previous policy, individuals who were eligible for Diversions at the time of the citation were formally arrested. If a person chose to complete the Diversions program, the arrest was removed from his or her record.
When asked if this new policy differed substantially from previous procedure, Student and Presidential Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee senior co-chair Will Schpero '10 said it does represent a change because some students will now technically avoid being arrested.
"It is my understanding that [the new policy] would have certain benefits for those who want to go to graduate school they can say they were never definitively arrested," he said.
Hanover Police's changes to their alcohol policy will encourage students to seek help when necessary and will foster safer drinking habits, he said.
"I think this is a great step forward," Schpero said. "But that does not mean that the work of SPAHRC or the campus in general is done making sure that when we drink, we drink in moderation."
The decision to change the procedure was entirely initiated by Hanover Police, according to Spears.
"The town and the College have been in conversation since the compliance checks," Spears said. "[Giaccone] has been working cooperatively with the College in finding some common ground, and the common ground is the safety of students."
The change follows Hanover Police's February announcement to implement compliance checks in Greek organizations in response to dangerous underage drinking. The announcement was met with strong resistance from the student body. The formation of the SPAHRC a committee led by College President Jim Yong Kim in an effort to reduce unsafe drinking practices followed Hanover Police's announcement that they would indefinitely delay implementation of the policy.
Spears called the decision a "very enlightened procedural change" in an interview with The Dartmouth.
"This change allows our campus community to be more assured that there are no barriers for students picking up the phone if someone is in need," Spears said. "The other opportunity it opens for us is, the College and students on the campus take seriously reducing the harms of drinking."
The new policy in its aim of reducing harm from the overconsumption of alcohol is an opportunity for students to adopt safer drinking habits, according to Spears.
"If nothing changes and this continues to be a pervasive problem, Chief Giaccone would certainly be within his right to say, I gave the College a chance but nothing changed,'" Spears said. "So it would behoove us to work together."
The new policy has "been in place for at least a couple of weeks," Kinne said. Spears said that Dartmouth administrators did not release the news of the change in procedures until they could "clarify what this would mean for students."
"The work of [SPAHRC] is critical in the identification and implementation of best practices for the safe management of alcohol on campus," Spears wrote in the e-mail.
Members of SPAHRC have been working with College administrators to research the drinking behavior of students at Dartmouth and to search for ways to try to reduce dangerous drinking, according to Schpero.
The implementation of Hanover Police's new policy will not affect Safety and Security's presence or duties on campus, according to Kinne.
Schpero is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
