Students and town residents interviewed by The Dartmouth expressed concern that the felony charge of serving alcohol to a minor leveled against Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity this week after a Good Samaritan call was made from the fraternity could make students reluctant to place Good Sam calls in the future.
"We are very worried about the undermining of the Good Sam," Student Body President Eric Tanner '11 said.
Although the College's alcohol policies, which include the Good Sam program, are intended to reduce potential harm to students, the Hanover Police Department has no legal obligation to comply with those same policies, Katherine Burke, assistant dean for campus life, said Thursday in an interview.
"Local officials are concerned about the risks of excessive drinking [on Dartmouth's campus,]" Burke said.
Tanner is in the process of conducting discussions with College administrators and town officials on the issue, he said.
"What we can do is convince the town [Select] Board that we don't need the Hanover Police Department snooping around our fraternities and sororities, and to do that we can come up with some internal policy changes showing the town we are doing our best," he said.
The Student and Presidential Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee, which published findings about the College's alcohol policy in May, operated under a similar mandate.
According to Tanner, students and the College have similar opinions about the issue of harm reduction.
"I think the College and students are really on the same page with this," Tanner said. "It's really good to have them united in our distaste for the practices of the Hanover Police Department these days."
The College plans to continue to work with town officials and the Hanover Police Department to pursue the overall goal of harm reduction that they share, according to Burke.
"My personal hope is that there are no deaths," she said. "My personal hope is that people will put the safety of their peers over the potential ramifications for their organization."
Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone has not responded to several requests for comment made on Wednesday and Thursday. College President Jim Yong Kim and acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears were also not available for comment on Wednesday or Thursday.
In recent years, the number of students needing medical attention as a result of alcohol consumption has decreased, SPAHRC said in its report. Recent years had also recorded an increase in the number of students seeking help for their peers through the Good Sam policy,
Potential legal ramifications are the most significant concern students consider before calling a Good Sam, SPAHRC found in the report.
Students interviewed by The Dartmouth said they thought the precedent set by the charge against SAE would make students less likely to make a Good Sam Call because of possible repercussions for themselves or organizations involved.
"If there are going to be problems for a fraternity if a Good Sam call is made if it's going to have negative consequences on the organization that will affect the usefulness of the Good Sam policy," Milo Johnson '13 said. "The whole notion of the Good Sam is that it's purely for safety, and people don't have to think about the consequences [for organizations or individuals] they can just act based on safety."
Students also said they felt the actions of the Hanover Police Department were specifically undermining the harm-reduction capacity of the Good Sam policy.
"It's overzealous on the part of Hanover Police, and people will do what they can to preserve the [Greek] organizations," Will Montgomery '11, a member of Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, said.
Some students said that the potential for punishment resulting from Good Sam calls could force the fraternity system to be more exclusive.
"It'll make [fraternities] more eager to close their doors," Peter Dykstra '13 said.
Jack Stinson Jr., an employee of Stinson's Village Store on Allen St., said he shares students' opinions on the potential harmful repercussions of the charge against SAE.
"Who would call a Good Sam now?" he asked. "Being charged with a felony and a $100,000 fine? You could get someone killed for less than that. I think a lot of people would like that brought up."
Stinson also questioned what he said seemed to be a dissolution of the informal agreement between the College and the Hanover Police Department to prioritize harm reduction.
"It's worth questioning a policy that puts safety second and notches on your belt first," he said.
It is not just students who wish Hanover Police were less stringent in their patrols, Stinson said. Town taxpayers would rather see their dollars go to other causes, he said.
"I don't think there's many residents that want a substantial amount of tax going to a pickup-and-babysit service," he said. "I think all residents would like to pay less taxes and have the College manage itself."
But Hanover Police officers find themselves in a binding position because of the visibility of underage drinking, he said. Officers who see clearly intoxicated individuals on public property, or who hear a call on the radio, have obligations to follow up on those cases, he said.
"What they're doing is beat work, following a lead, and often they can't stop what they're doing and make a judgement call," he said. "They could be sued too, individually. They have no choice."
