Correction appended
Greek leaders received revisions to the Social Event Management Procedures that include an updated categorization of social events, expansion of keg policy and additional walkthroughs by Safety and Security during "tails" events, in a Dec. 21 e-mail from acting Director of Greek Letter Organizations and Societies Kristi Clemens obtained by The Dartmouth.
Clemens declined to comment on the new policy, but said in her e-mail that College officials will discuss the changes in greater detail with Greek leaders during a Jan. 4 social chairs meeting and a Jan. 5 meeting with Greek presidents.
Justin Anderson, director of media relations for the College, confirmed that acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears will make an announcement about student health and safety on Jan. 4.
Students interviewed by The Dartmouth who were aware of the changes stressed the need for continued interaction between students and administrators in regards to the reformed policy.
"The changes to SEMP were a great first step, but they are not enough, and in some instances can be argued as counterproductive," Student Assembly Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee co-chair Cyrus Akrami '11 said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. "Their efficacy will become apparent once they are actually put into place, so we will have to wait and see what happens before any conclusions can be made."
UPDATED PROCEDURES
The revised policy categorizes social events into Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 based on the number of students attending each event, the type of alcohol served and designated requisite registration procedures. The past "open" and "closed" event categories will no longer be used, according to the e-mail.
The new policy also amends the "on-the-fly" registration policy and requires Greek organizations to create internal event management plans in compliance with the new regulations.
Members-only events now classified as Tier 1 can no longer include hard alcohol. Greek organizations must now also notify the GLOS office and Safety and Security of these events by registering online by 3 p.m. on the day of the event. Organizations, however, can register all their meetings for the term during the first week, Clemens said in the e-mail addressed to Greek social chairs and presidents.
Such events will not be subject to a walkthrough by Safety and Security, although a sober event monitor designated by the organization must be present at all times.
A Tier 1 event becomes a Tier 2 event with the addition of one non-member, according to the revised guidelines.
A Tier 2 event may serve wine, hard alcohol and beer in cans or kegs. Events with beer or wine may be either registered ahead of time or "on-the-fly," which requires contacting Safety and Security and registering the event online.
Tails or events serving hard alcohol must be registered by 3 p.m. on the day of the event, and an event host must go to the GLOS office for "quick" event approval, Clemens wrote.
Tails events will also now be subject to a walkthrough conducted by Safety and Security during the event, instead of before the event, as previous SEMP guidelines had specified.
"It did not make sense to have [Safety and Security] do the walkthrough before the event even began, since tails events are more likely to involve high-risk drinking because they have hard alcohol," Clemens wrote.
Clemens said she recognized that the change would be a "sticking point" with Greek organization leaders, but that College President Jim Yong Kim supports the revision and believes that it will reduce dangerous drinking.
Events open to campus and with more than 150 attendees Tier 3 events must be registered online by 11:59 p.m. on the Wednesday before the event, according to the updated policy.
In line with previous policy, hard alcohol is not permitted at Tier 3 events. Such parties will be subject to two Safety and Security walkthroughs during the event, according to the revised document.
A maximum of five kegs are allowed at Tier 3 events under the proposed policy, with a maximum of two kegs tapped and active at any time. Each Greek organization must create a specific event management plan, including bartending duties, access to upper floors and door control, which need approval from the GLOS office, Clemens said in the e-mail. Plans must be updated every term and be in compliance with the new tier categories.
"We have seen that our events with the least amount of risk are planned in advance and/or have a certain amount of oversight from entities outside of the chapter," Clemens said.
STUDENT RESPONSE
Student leaders and administrators will be in close communication throughout the next two weeks to discuss and suggest further revisions to the policy, according to students interviewed by The Dartmouth.
"We have been meeting with the administration to figure out ways to improve the new SEMP policy and are confident that we'll be able to find a solution that increases student responsibility and promotes safety," Inter-Fraternity Council President Tyler Brace '11 said.
Student leaders interviewed by The Dartmouth said they were pleased with the clarity and intentions of the new policy.
"I think the administration and GLOS did a good job of clarifying rules surrounding event management," Andrew Manns '11, Coeducational Greek Leadership Council president and social chair of Alpha Theta coed fraternity, said. "[It makes] it a lot easier for those who run events to be able to see what rules apply and how they apply, making it much easier to run parties safely and in coordination with the College."
Student Body President Eric Tanner '11 said that the tier categorization is a positive step and that he appreciates the administration's efforts to listen to student responses.
"There are no more holes, and it covers every form of party," Tanner, who is also social chair of Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, said.
Others interviewed by The Dartmouth said they disagreed with the addition of a walkthrough in Tier 2 events. Brace said that the policy was "counterproductive."
"For the smaller scenes at a Tier 2 event, it's important that we develop and implement our internal management procedures, and having Safety and Security hold walkthroughs isn't really going to do anything it's just going to disincentivize registration," Brace said. "No house is going to open themselves up to walkthroughs four nights a week."
Although the College has urged students to "take responsibility for events," Brace said that the policy does not allow students to do so.
Max Yoeli '12, former student co-chair of Student and Presidential Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee, said that the addition of a walkthrough during tails "seems overbearing."
"It pushes away social chairs from registering," Yoeli said. "Although the intent was that more houses would register providing more oversight and more communication between Greek houses and the administration unfortunately, I think this new level of scrutiny would disincentivize houses from registering events."
Student government leaders, Greek organizations and other interested students are currently developing and implementing student-based initiatives to reduce harmful drinking on campus, Tanner said. "Student leaders are planning to actually have done by Jan. 14 the more refined student-led plans that can both go along with SEMP and replace some aspects," he said. "Now that we're all back on campus, we hope to get that process rolling into high gear."
The Assembly's Alcohol Committee is currently working on potential changes to SEMP, Akrami said.
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Clemens and Kinne examined proposals put forth by SPAHRC and suggestions from the Assembly's Alcohol Committee before determining the best policy going forward, Clemens wrote in the e-mail.
"Combining those suggestions with what we know works and what does not, we created a new SEMP that is grounded in best practices in alcohol management as well as the realities of the Dartmouth social scene," Clemens said.
She also acknowledged the guidelines' shortcomings in the e-mail.
"As we've discussed many times over the Fall term, SEMP doesn't always work as well as we would like," Clemens said, citing challenges Greek organizations face when managing tails events as well as other events that unexpectedly grow in size.
In May, the SPAHRC recommended reforming SEMP based on the committee's findings, The Dartmouth previously reported. The previous procedures were often ignored because they were "grossly impractical," former SPAHRC student co-chair William Schpero '10 said during a May 19 SPAHRC presentation.
Schpero is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
After creating an initial draft, Clemens contacted Greek Council presidents and members of the Assembly's Alcohol Committee for feedback. Clemens then presented the revised document to Kim, according to her e-mail.
The revisions will become effective Jan.14 in order to provide time for a "successful transition," Clemens said. The first two weeks will allow time for Safety and Security officers to undergo procedural training, SEMP training to be updated and Greek members to become familiar with new designations and update event management plans in accordance with revised regulations, Clemens said.
Clemens' e-mail follows a December announcement by Spears that the College planned to implement a series of new initiatives aimed at combatting high-risk drinking and sexual assault on campus, The Dartmouth previously reported. Spears said the College would clarify expectations and procedures during the Winter and Spring terms, and provide concrete tools for student groups hosting events.
