The Stetson Reporter

The Stetson Reporter April 25, 1995 4 Bergeii9 bar owners meet ©el of f "©fflmapms dbriimMioLj Binge drinking ruins campus life Tor many-sober students, poll finds Davina Yetter Printed Jan. 17, 1995- Over the last semester, the issue of having alcohol on campus has been brought to the attention of'almost every indi- vidual"at Stetson. However, many have not stopped to think, how are students using (or abusing) alcohol off campus? ' ' Associate Dean of. Campus Life Dave Bergen confronted this issue head on in a meeting last Thursday with local tavern owners, Director of Public Safety Martin Workman, and DeLand Police Chief Richard Slaughter. The owners.of Halftime Sports Bar, Red's, McCabe's, and Good Company Sport Bar were among the participants. CORRECTION:. The front page picture from the student art exhibit was a sculpture by Chris Spatafora. DON'T .FORGET to fill out a forwarding card at the post office so you can get your mail this summer. ■ "We shared concerns, ideas to get a perspective from the tavern owners...are there problems taking place in the bars with Stetson students...they all said no, that they valued Stetson' stu-. dents as customers/'' recalled Bergen. '. The owners, also, 'complimented students for breaking up potential fights and using designated drivers. ' , Concerns -were also ex- - pressed about underage drink- • ing and students causing trouble on-campus following an evening of drinking off-campus. Workman said that a high percentage of .the crimes that occur on-campus are alcohol related. Bar owners informed meeting participants that their employees undergo extensive training about not serving to minors, identifying when one has had too much to drink, and identify- • ing fake IDs. They said that they offer free rides home for those who drink/ as well as free soft drinks for designated drivers. However, owners did not agree with Bergen's request in not advertising all-you-can-drink specials and other events that encourage excessive drinking.' "It goes against everything we try to teach about responsible drinking," stated Bergen, and cited BACCHUS and fraternity and sorority national headquarters as also being against'these events. The bar owners,responded that they are businessmen, and that if they don't have these specials, then students will go somewhere else that does. Alcohol education was another issue discussed in the private meeting. Tavern owners asked what measures the university was taking in educating students about the consequences of drinking...and getting caught. Bergen suggested that they may work with the police department to have officers speak at programs organized by students. Participants said that the meeting was a productive one, and a good start to better communication between bar owners, the university, and the city. Associated Press ■ Printed.Dec. 7, 1994 in. The Orlando Sentinel- _ CHICAGO-Nearly half of U.S. college students are binge drinkers who make life miserable for' much of the other half, according to a survey. "Students on campuses where there's a lot of binge drinking are affected in a num. ber of ways—including physical assault, sexual harassment, property damage ..and interrupted sleep or study time," said Henry Wachsler, director of the Alcohol Studies Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. His team surveyed 17,592 students on 140 campuses .nationwide last year. Findings appear in today's journal of the American Medical Association. ■ Forty-four percent reported bingeing on alcohol, defined as downing five drinks in a row for men or four in a row for women on at least one occasion in the two weeks before the survey. Nineteen percent of all students were frequent binge. drinkers, defined as those who had had at least three binges in the period. • ■ . Binge drinkers were seven times as likely to have 'unprotected sex as a nonbinge drinker, , 10 times as likely to drive after drinking and 11 times as likely to fall behind, in school, the survey found. Wechsler said sober students should "be encouraged to speak up and not .to tolerate the impairment to the quality of their colleges." 15 10 % 3 V; I P y, AVERAGE NUMBER OF DRINKS CONSUMED PER-WEEK BY STETSON STUDENTS According to Spring 1993 survey Five years ago; "Stetson9 s Tolerance? ZERO" Robert Bullock PrintedSept. 25, 1990- Since taking office as interim dean of student affairs in June, James Beasley has been very busy bringing Stetson up to standard in comparison to other schools of our size and stature. One of Beasley's primary efforts has been the revamping of the school's alcohol policy and the development of "guidelines for implementation" of that policy. A series of meetings and discussions involving Beasley, President Lee, the Board of Trustees, and*a number of student leaders has resulted in a nine page document entitled, "Stetson University Policy on Alcoholic Beverages and Guidelines for Implementation," which will be distributed to all Stetson students within the next few weeks. The alcohol policy itself has undergone minimal change. Students still may not possess, use or distributed alcoholic beverages on campus. Although the wording has been altered from "Stetson does not permit..." to "Stetson discourages...," the sanctions for violation of the policy have actually been toughened up to seriously "discourage" all use of alcohol within the Stetson community. According to Lee, this stems from a recent incident which has placed Stetson in a multi-million dollar litigation. Though he would give no details ofthe current case, he did say that it is "a direct result of a minor drinking without interdiction." "We know that the majority of you are alcohol users, and will continue to be," said Lee, "but. we must begin to monitor activities and bring the problem under control now." Lee emphasized that this "is not a Baptist issue/' It is a legal one, and the tougher policy and guidelines for implementation will not infringe on the rights of students to privacy within.their own rooms, according to Lee. In preparation for the document, Dr. Beasley claimed to take into account seven primary "considerations." Those are: student welfare, liability, responsibility, integrity, honesty, education and flexibility. Said Beasley, "We cannot eradicate every ounce of use on campus. Prohibition is not a reality." As the new policy states, "this policy expresses our ideal for an alcohol-free learning environment," and realizing that ideal is the goal of the administration. According to Beasley, "this document moves Stetson into the mainstream of colleges and universities across the nation." Those hardest hit by the new policy will be fraternities. The guidelines require that "any social event not sponsored by an office of the University and held on the campus or in or adjacent to residential houses occupied by recognized student organizations must be registered...with the Office of Student Life if the event: a) is open to more than 20 non-members and b) will occur between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m." Registration must take place at least five days in advance and a guest-list, limited in length by the fire code restrictions of the facility, must be submitted to the Office of Student Life no less than 48 hours in advance. No one who is not on the guest list may enter the event. Fraternity presidents and house fathers are worried that not only will this cut down significantly on attendance at their parties, but it will also discourage spontaneous interaction between fraternities and other groups. Beasley hopes that the policy will "cover as many activities as possible without inhibiting normal life." To help student, leaders understand and deal with the legalities of the new policy and guidelines, Stetson Law professor Bill Bickle, also one of Stetson's legal advisors, was brought in for a forum with presidents and other officers of Stetson organizations. . According to Professor Bickle, the law "requires prevention of use, possession, and distribution of any illicit drug or alcoholic beverage on any college campus nationwide." Failure to have an active policy in place by October 1,1990, would result in loss of all government monies both direct and indirect. What this means, according to Bickle, is that all government scholarship money, Le. the State Tuition Voucher received by most Stetson students, could be taken away. In an extra attempt to assure that the changes are not a result of Baptist fanaticism or administrative totalitarianism, Bickle said that schools like FSU and University of Florida had this type of. policy twenty years ago. It is nothing new. " Dean Beasley's final emphasis was that the guidelines are part of "an evolving document." Changes will continue to come and student input is both welcomed and sought, according to Beasley. fhrida's Oldest Coikgiate ftfezt/spaper If fe*> # $ #WMfif 'vio|f®.f>ift 'd '.fe Mil iim^mm 4#«#If>(, W§ :Mmmm iMBmmmy iM^fsil illbwtlto Wfewir WfK „ -ip^l )Eliifi.oii) ©w■■ al©(0)Ihi(Q)! poMcsy approved Davina Yetter The Stetson ReporteL. Students will be allowed to drink on campus beginning this fall. A policy to allow alcohol on campus was given final approval by the Board of Trustees last Friday, according to Mark Hollis, chair of the board. - Administrators expressed hope-for the new policy, developed after over two years of research and debate. The new alcohol policy was voted through by a 19-5 margin following a short period of discussion 'at the meeting, said Vice President of Campus Life James Beasley. Beasley attributed the short discussion to prior deliberation at previous trustee meetings. , Beginning this fall, the plan would, allow students aged'21 or older to possess and consume alcoholic beverages according to federal, state and local laws, as well as by guidelines currently being developed by the university. The change in policy was regarded as a "reaffirmation of the relationship of mutual trust" between students and the -administration by Beasley. He added that, "adult responsibility is accompanied by adult accountability." ■ Hollis described the policy as "the honest and forthright approach to a very sss^zs: "Its the honest and forthright approach to a very serious problem. Not Just for Stetson, but for across America foday." —Mark Hollis Chair of Board of Trustees serious problem. Not just for Stetson, but for all across America today." The policy change was a method to "deal realistically" with alcohol use at Stetson, according to President Douglas Lee. "The fundamental issue addressed was the fact that alcohol is being used and abused on Stetson's campus," said. Lee. "Our primary concern is for.the health and welfare of students." The policy change foUowed over two years of research, debate and discussion. The effort originated in the Student Government Association in February 1993. SGA President Gayle Littleton submitted a senate resolution to Beasley to create a task force consisting of faculty, staff and students to%reevaluate the alcohol policy and consider" a new one. The resolution was carried through, and in May 1994 the Alcohol Task Force presented their proposal to the vice president. The recommendation was reviewed by SGA, the Faculty Senate, the President's Parents Council and the Campus Life Committee,rwhose input was examined by the Planning Issues Task Force. This task force then submitted a proposal to the Board of Trustees, who gave the final approval. "I think the decision process was very fair. We had a good open discussion on the board and in all of the committee work, some very well considered expressions of opinion," stated Hollis. Committee begins development of Davina Yetter The Stetson Reporter- Development of alcohol policy guidelines is underway, according to Nancy Jones, chair of the guidelines committee and assistant dean of campus life. The process of developing specific rules and limitations for the new alcohol policy began early this month by the eight members of the guidelines committee. Changes are being made to the original Alcohol Task Force guidelines, which is what the committee has based its discussion on. The plan for implementation is being developed by a committee consisting of Jones, Director of Residential Life and Judicial Affairs David Bergen, Assistant Director of Health Services Penny Taylor, Associate Director of Student Life Darald Stubbs, Assistant Director of Student Life David Riveness, and students Mike Holbein, Shane Cadden and Angela Boudreaux. "I'm feeling really good about the committee working, that we're really discussing the points well based on information we gathered," said Jones. Revisions to the task force guidelines have been made to five of the ten pages over the last three meetings of the committee. The committee has already evaluated the introduction, locations alcoholic beverages are allowed, and the residential hall guidelines. Jones stated that "the basic concept is the same" for the residence hall regulations as the Alcohol Task Force guidelines, but mentioned that the rules may change before they are published in next year's Connections handbook. Discussion on quantity limitations has been the "biggest struggle" according to Jones. The committee has met three times so far, with meetings lasting up to three hours at a time. "The good part of having different committee members with different strengths and different opinions is that it's very helpful to have a better result in the end. The difficulty is that its strenuous, its long, there's so much discussion on everything. We can talk about a sentence for an hour. Ifs tedious," said Jones, "It's a little frustrating," stated Bergen about the amount of time, but he emphasized that the group needs to create something "easy to understand, not open to interpretation." "It's coming along, and we all want to get to the end," expressed Shane Cadden, "but we want to do it right." <•<?• ' ',1Av ' A isieF, IH X'-