At a public meeting held before most students returned to Hanover for Summer term, the five-member board unanimously tightened open container and outdoor activities ordinances two business days after New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed a law on June 15 that also takes aim at the sophomore summer river party. Tubestock, held each summer since 1986, is a day-long party on the Connecticut river where students have historically participated in rampant underage drinking.
The measure on the state level, added to a broader boating and water safety law at the behest of the state Marine Patrol, establishes a fine for anyone who participates in a non-permitted water event and makes it a misdemeanor to fail to leave once instructed to do so by a law enforcement officer.
The town's moves extend policing for open alcohol containers to bodies of water and extend penalties for noisy or disruptive outdoor events held without a permit to all participants.
"The only thing we've come up with is to send a message that this event is not okay under any circumstances unless it is completely overhauled," Town Manager Julia Griffin said in an interview. A complete overhaul, she said, would include the elimination of rafts and alcohol from the event.
The board's action "doubles the punch of saying look, this is not good," Griffin said.
Both the state and town measures close a loophole students have taken advantage of since the first Tubestock 20 years ago, by now fining not only organizers but also participants in non-permitted outdoor events. As Tubestock has not had a single identifiable organizer in recent years, the town has not been able to fine participants until now.
To get a permit, Tubestock organizers would have to obtain a $2 million insurance policy, a typical requirement for municipalities, Griffin said.
However, "no insurance company in their right mind would provide coverage," Griffin said. Without insurance for the event, liability in case of an accident or death would most likely fall on the town.
"That's not fair to the taxpayers to be saddled with that liability," Griffin said.
Griffin and board members said that safety was their first concern in tightening the ordinances, although the potential liability for town residents and the debris from the event were repeatedly addressed at Monday's meeting, which was attended by three Dartmouth students.
"For us, managing the liability is not our biggest concern," Griffin said. "Our biggest concern is preventing somebody from being injured or dying as a result of the event."
Student leaders from the Greek Leadership Council and 2008 Class Council met with town officials on multiple occasions since the fall, but no compromises were reached.
"It's not about compromise," Griffin said.
For the most part the board has heard little input from students, according to Board member and 35-year Hanover resident Kate Connolly.
"I hope that when the students come back for the new semester that they will actually look at the issues," Connolly said.
Students can make alternate proposals for the event at the board's next public meeting at the town hall on July 10, although the ordinances are already on the books.
"A non-alcoholic event would be viewed with considerably more generosity," Connolly said. "The students, who I'm sure are incredibly disappointed, may consider doing it differently."
Last summer's drowning death of a Tuck Bridge program student, in an incident unrelated to Tubestock, was one of the major triggers for discussion at the town level, Connolly said.
"It's like 9/11 -- why wait till it happens?" she said.
One of the sponsors of the state bill, David Russell, R-Belknap, said the Marine Patrol pushed lawmakers to pass the legislation, citing "some Dartmouth students and some pretty serious partying on the river."
Russell said the Marine Patrol told lawmakers that they "have a problem on the Connecticut River -- any time the Dartmouth College wants to have some sort of an event it gets out of control."
The College has never sponsored Tubestock.
"What's really too bad is that the whole thing didn't get heard," Russell said, referring to the fact that the Marine Patrol was the only party that testified for or against the measure. "But it's law now and the only thing we can really do is turn around make another one that changes the language."
Sophomore Class Council President Tess Reeder '08, who met with town officials before the ordinances were passed, said she understands the town's position and doubts that a fully sober Tubestock could take place.
"Realistically I think it's impossible to have a 100-percent-sober Tubestock, but I think it would be possible to have something that's not dominated by alcohol," she said. "But at the same time I don't know how you can regulate that many people."
Reeder said her group is looking into planning a "Fieldstock" event on dry land to boost sophomore class spirit.
