University begins long-term study of alcohol policy
Erin LaRuffa
Scott Krueger should be a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this year.
But he never made it through his freshman year.
Krueger died of alcohol poisoning after a night of binge drinking at his fraternity house in 1997.
The tragedy caused MIT to re-examine its alcohol policy and drew attention to the heavy drinking that occurs on campuses nationwide.
Currently, Notre Dame's Board of Trustees is examining the University's own alcohol policy, although it is unclear yet whether any changes will be made.
At its spring meeting, the Board of Trustees suggested that student government present a report on the alcohol policy, which student leaders agreed to do, said Jay Smith, student government chief of staff. Instead of the traditional formal report, he said, the Trustees felt a discussion would be more effective.
"We believe that this was progress," Smith said. "In giving up a formal report, we were able to talk about issues they were already talking about and give them student perspective."
"The discussion was based on them getting a fuller understanding of what students think of the policy," said Susan Roberts, student government's academic delegate. "It was a very open discussion between the Board of Trustees and the students."
Smith and Roberts, along with Michael Heinz, made a three-part presentation to two Board of Trustees committees — Student Affairs and Social Values.
Student government has the opportunity to address the Board of Trustees twice a year, Smith said. Although they usually present to the Student Affairs committee only, this year they also presented to the Social Values committee.
After the presentation, Trustee committee members did not indicate when and if they would be making a decision on any changes.
"It appeared to us that the response was overwhelmingly positive," Smith said.
Committee members did question the trio following their presentation, but neither committee indicated that the Board was considering changing the policy altogether, according to Roberts.
"The issue hasn't been addressed to the Board of Trustees in recent years," she said. "[Board members] wanted to gain the pulse of the campus."
Now, the Board is "probably digesting" the information from the presentation and planning to discuss the issue at its February meeting, said Dennis Moore, the University's director of Public Relations and Information.
What is for certain is that the Board will be looking at alcohol issues further.
The Office of Student Affairs, along with the Office of Drug and Alcohol Education (OADE), are currently assembling focus groups consisting of students, rectors, faculty, staff and community members, according to Gina Firth, director of OADE.
The two offices hope to complete listen sessions with over 30 focus groups and compile a report to present to the Board of Trustees at its meeting in May.
"This is an opportunity for us to listen and hear from a wide array of folks for whom this is an issue," said Bill Kirk, assistant vice president for Residence Life.
An early part of this listening came during the Trustees' meeting with student government. The three students gave the Board an overview of alcohol-related problems at Notre Dame, according to Smith. This included binge drinking and policies in du Lac, as well as statistics from the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education.
The second part involved student perspective — interpretation of the alcohol policy by different student-led focus groups, and varying interpretations of the policy.
Another important aspect of student perspective involves resident assistants (RAs) and "whether or not they're there for assistance or for punishment" in relation to student alcohol use, according to Smith.
"We want them to be a resource for students," he said.
Rectors, and the consistency with which they enforce alcohol rules, was also brought up.
The student perspective section of the presentation also incorporated concerns of off-campus students. Many of these people do not know the ramifications — both with the law and with the University — for something such as throwing a party, according to Smith.
Another aspect of student perspective the group presented was the difference in drinking habits at different ages. In other words, Smith said, the reasons why students drink are different for freshmen and seniors because social circumstances change as students progress through their time at Notre Dame.
One perception, Smith said, is that upperclassmen drink less than underclassmen. He added that there are many freshmen who do not drink at all, but then begin to drink as sophomores.
The final section of the three-part presentation included a plan of action, or what representatives of student government think needs improvement.
First, they believe that consistency has to be improved. The students told the Board of Trustees that certain areas of the policy had to be clarified in order for the policy to be more consistently enforced. Such clarification, he added, would be most beneficial if the clarification policy involved input from students, RAs, rectors, administrators, professors and the Trustees.
Smith explained that members of student government involved in the preparing the presentation felt the current policy is good but needs to be clarified.
As an example of this, Smith pointed out that some dorms require students to fill out a form to have a party, while other dorms do not have such a requirement. Another area that is unclear involves what constitutes making drinking public, he said.
The second part of the action plan involves increasing education.
Currently, PILLARS has a program for first-year students to discuss alcohol use, but no such program exists for older students.
Director of Alcohol and Drug Education Gina Firth praised the efforts of PILLARS at educating freshmen, but added that more education is necessary.
"We need to continue extending our efforts," Firth said.
In this vein, presenters told the Board that education should not be reserved for freshmen, according to Smith.
Instead, it should be ongoing "as the individual develops," he said. The students recommended that rectors and RAs meet with small groups of students to talk about alcohol issues.
However, as Smith pointed out, off-campus students do not have rectors or RAs to turn to. Those students need to be educated about their new legal obligations and their obligations as Notre Dame students, and therefore, the three suggested that there be a mandatory meeting for students who want to move off campus. Such a meeting could also cover security, financial issues and resources at Notre Dame that students can turn to for help.
Thirdly, the action plan included discussion of facilities for non-alcohol related events. Smith explained that LaFortune does not have adequate entertainment for average Notre Dame students on the weekend.
"[Alcohol] education alone is not enough," Firth said, adding that lack of space for non-alcohol related events probably contributes to some heavy drinking among Notre Dame students.
"We have some major space concerns," she said. While praising Student Activities for their efforts, Firth added that there are "social limitations" due to lack of social space.
Last year, a Student Senate survey indicated that students want something such as a movie theater or bowling alley in the student center. But, he noted, that would require a new building. And some people said that no matter what programs are offered, college students will still drink.
"Even with ideas like increased social space, there's not much the University can do to keep us here," said freshman Pat Hallahan.
Nevertheless, presenters recommended that the Trustees follow the Senate's recommendations in this area.
Funding for non-alcohol related events was also part of the presentation.
Smith pointed out that such events currently have low turnout because it is difficult "to compete with Rally in the Ally, Lafayette." Until Student Activities can afford bigger productions, said Smith, non-alcohol events may take a back seat.
All News Stories for Wednesday, November 1, 2000
