In response to January's steering committee report, the College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs has been reviewing the report's recommendations dealing with alcohol on campus.
The CCAOD hopes to create a more cohesive policy on alcohol and other drugs that will incorporate some aspects of the steering committee's suggestions with the working pieces of the College's current policy.
The steering committee report refers to this current policy as "complicated, poorly enforced by the College and widely ignored by the students."
Acting Dean of the Tucker Foundation and CCAOD Chair Robert Binswanger does not disagree, saying, "the majority of the current CCAOD believe, with most other objective observers, that the full application and implementation [of the current alcohol policy] is uneven and confusing to students."
In an effort to make the current alcohol policy more cohesive, the College reconstituted the CCAOD this fall, with a mind to reflect a broader cross section of campus interests, CCAOD vice-Chair Margaret Smith said.
Binswanger said that almost half of the committee is made up of students, and the members vary from a fraternity president, an unaffiliated sophomore and College Proctor Robert McEwen.
"This CCAOD is a diverse group that represents the various interests on campus," Smith said.
The latest manifestation of the CCAOD has been focusing on education and prevention in working with a host of campus interests to "figure out how we can make this a better campus," Smith said.
Amid the enormous complexity of the entire Social and Residential Life Initiative, Binswanger said the Committee has its hands full on those portions of the report dealing with alcohol and other drugs alone.
Alcohol being one of the main concentrations of the steering committee's report, only adds to the complicated nature of the problem, said Binswanger.
"It's not an issue of fraternities and sororities, state or federal law, or what size cups or how many games -- it's all of those things and more," he said.
The CCAOD is now formulating a policy on alcohol and other drugs that will depend on responsibility on an individual level among the students, Binswanger said.
This involves evaluating the steering committee's recommendations and deciding what parts to use in making a system that would be supported by the student body, said Binswanger.
One recommendation of the steering committee report already under fire, is that which sets limits on what number of people would constitute a party and thus the point of differentiation between a registered and non-registered event, said Binswanger. "The numbers set are too prescriptive."
The report proposes making groups of sixteen or more serving alcohol in campus social spaces, 11 or more in residential suites, or seven or more in residential rooms, would have to register with the College.
"If a responsibility-based system is implemented, the negative behavior associated with alcohol and other drugs should decrease, making a better social climate," he said.
Whatever recommendations the CCAOD comes up with will be reported to Dean of the College James Larimore, and possibly the president and Trustees for final consideration. What clout the revised recommendations will carry remains to be seen, Binswanger said. "Power on this campus is ephemeral."
Binswanger is confident the CCAOD's trend towards a system of rules built on fairness and responsibility will be something that genuinely reflects the College's best interests, he said, but there is no guarantee that anything is set in stone yet.
"I don't know that these [recommendations] will ever turn into rules. We may already have too many rules. Are we better off with fewer rules and tougher implementation?"
The CCAOD report will not be prepared for at least another two weeks.
