Senate on policy: ‘climate of fear’

by Joe Lazauskas '10

Tuesday January 22, 2008

Students struck with fear by Sarah Lawrence’s policy toward alcohol may soon have reason to rejoice. Student Senate is spearheading an effort to strip the Drug and Alcohol Policy of some of its bite.

Senate has brought to the Committee on Student Life a long list of changes to the policy it believes are necessary. “These changes were made to correct some harms expressed by the policy,” Senate Chair Lauren Glowzenski said during the Dec. 5 Student Life meeting. “As it stands, there is a climate of fear amongst the student body when it comes to the drug and alcohol policy…The College is not comprised of the type of students that once filled the campus, the generational difference alone is substantial evidence to change.”

The Committee on Student Life holds the power to recommend policy changes to the president. The list of changes Senate has proposed is lengthy (see list below article). The Committee on Student Life will likely take many weeks to review each issue before coming to any consensus on a recommendation.

The issue at the forefront of the Dec. 5 meeting concerned the ban on any advertisement of alcohol on campus. Page 85 of the Student Handbook reads, “Publicity and posters for events with alcohol may not mention alcohol or imply that it will be served.”

This meant that events which have been approved to provide alcohol could not advertise the presence of alcohol—even to remind students over 21 to bring identification.

“Things got out of hand,” Dean of Student Affairs Mary Spellman said, explaining the origin of the publicity ban. “Students were advertising the quantity of alcohol and drinking games, so that’s where the ban came from.”

“I’m a little worried about alcohol being the focus of events,” Spellman said later.

Administrators Michael Rengers, Mary Levine and Maureen Gallagher appeared to be in favor of either continuing the ban or limiting the mention of alcohol to a College Events stamp for the posters that says, “Alcohol will be served: those over 21 should bring your IDs.”

Students and faculty on the committee offered counter-arguments.
“This has no relevance within the policy for drug and alcohol,” Glowzenski said.

“We shouldn’t limit what students can advertise,” senior Dave Cantler added.

The publicity issue stemmed a more generalized debate over events which advertise and include alcohol.

“The events were all about the liquor,” Vice President of Operations Michael Rengers said. “It was all about ‘Beer Bash.’ In a world where we’re sending youngins’ to the hospital for poison from alcohol, we have to look at the whole.”

Senior Committee members Dave Brody and Cantler noted that with a strictly enforced limit by GAs of three drinks over the course of three hours at events, it is almost impossible to get drunk at the events. Thus, the fear of the administration seems unfounded.
“We’re not having shooters, we’re not having kegs,” Brody said.

“It’s three beers, one per hour. As students, we don’t understand [this].”

“What I’m hearing from the administration is that the students can only drink irresponsibly,” faculty representative Ernesto Mestre said, “based on what happened years ago.”

“Frankly, I’m concerned that all students are learning before graduation is how to hide their consumption,” Mestre said later.
“There were more hospilizations at the Coming out Dance where alcohol wasn’t served (04-05) than the Coming Out Dance where alcohol was served (03-04),” Brody later noted, “implying that students are drinking beforehand in smaller groups.”

A motion to strike the sentence, “Publicity and posters for events with alcohol may not mention alcohol or imply that it will be served,” was ultimately brought to a vote and approved by a 13-4 margin. The Committee on Student Life will submit that recommendation to President Lawrence immediately.

The many remaining issues will be discussed in great depth during the second semester.

The committee on Student Life meets Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. but will not meet Dec. 19. All students who wish to voice their opinion on this matter should come to the meeting or contact their Student Life representative. If you would like to know who your Student Life representative is, contact Student Affairs or email The Phoenix at phoenix@gm.slc.edu and we will provide you with that information. Remember, you have a right to voice your opinion on Sarah Lawrence College policy, and your representatives have a responsibility to represent your interests.

Proposed Senate changes to the Drug and Alcohol Policy:

1. Allow students who lose Senior Week privileges to walk at commencement.
2. Allow publicity for alcohol at events.
3. Have a warning be the first sanction for providing alcohol to a minor or someone who is visibly intoxicated, excessive consumption of alcohol, unregistered event with alcohol, and violations of the alcohol policies related to campus events.
4. Only have the emergency contact of students under 18 be notified when they are taken to the hospital.
5. Allow donations collected at events to be used for the purchase of alcohol.
6. Not sanction events to cancellation for the violation of the alcohol policy.
7. Under the Good Samaritan Policy, allow the individual who reports a dangerous incident to be excused from any sanctions.
8. Allow hosts of a registered event with alcohol to drink.
9. Raise the number of students allowed at an unregistered event with alcohol from 16 to 20.
10. Not allow the presence of alcohol at an event not approved by the assistant dean of student affairs to be grounds for “the event to be disbanded immediately upon discovery.”
11. Place GEAs, not hosts, responsible for “ensuring that the College’s alcohol and event regulations are observed by guests.”
12. Allow events with alcohol to take place on nights other than Friday and Saturday while school is in session.