In April, acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears announced that Hanover Police will no longer arrest students under 21 years old who are treated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center due to alcohol overconsumption. A look back at the arrest history of Green Key weekend provides a context in which to evaluate the effects of the recent alcohol policy changes.
Student arrests totalled 11 in both 2009 and 2008, and seven in 2007.
Last year, nine students were arrested for alcohol-related charges. Four freshmen and four upperclassmen were arrested for unlawful possession of alcohol, as well as one graduate student who was under 21 years old, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Five arrests were made in connection with ambulance calls.
Although Green Key is not typically rowdier than other springtime weekends at Dartmouth, according to interim associate Dean of the College Harry Kinne, the weekend has seen a fair share of alcohol-related incidents in the recent past.
"In the last few years, [Green Key] has been pretty routine," Kinne said. "We haven't had anything that's been out of the ordinary for a large, active weekend."
Still, he said, Safety and Security will be using a larger force this weekend and will be conducting extra patrols on Friday and Saturday nights.
"We just want to encourage people to have a safe weekend," he said. "Our biggest concern is people's safety."
Despite such police activity, Green Key is typically no more active than busy weekends in Fall term, Kinne said. While Green Key is busier than Winter Carnival and most other weekends during the Spring term, the weekend is usually milder than Homecoming in terms of security disturbances, he said.
Alumni arrests have been relatively uncommon over the past few years, although Hanover Police have frequently placed visiting alumni into protective custody.
Last year, Hanover Police took three alumni who were of legal drinking age into protective custody after police determined them to be excessively intoxicated.
An incident at Psi Upsilon fraternity last year involved an alumnus who injured his head while performing a "keg stand," in which an individual drinks from a keg while being held upside down. The alumnus, a member of the Class of 2008, suffered a mild concussion, as well as a cut that required several staples to close. He fell after his hand slipped from the keg, causing him to hit his head.
The alumnus was brought to DHMC, but no arrests were made in connection with the incident.
Visitors during Green Key weekend have also contributed to disturbances throughout the weekend's history. Last Green Key weekend, three individuals with no relation to Dartmouth were arrested in addition to the 11 Dartmouth students who faced charges following the weekend.
On May 15, 2004, Hanover Police found a 21-year old male passed out on the Green at 1:54 a.m., who was then brought into protective custody. The student, then enrolled at the University of San Diego, was later found to have an outstanding warrant for his arrest relating to charges of unlawful alcohol possession from Green Key weekend the previous year. He had been charged with failure to appear in court, which can result in jail time, The Dartmouth reported.
In the last few years, fire alarms have also been pulled at various Greek organizations' physical plants during Green Key weekend.
One such incident occurred at Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity's building last year, as well as at Chi Gamma Epsilon and Chi Heorot fraternities' physical plants in 2007.
While the alarms interrupted ongoing parties, none of the incidents led to any arrests or fires.
