While two committees continue to review the University's social events and alcohol policies, University officials implemented interim social events policies Jan. 26 to address issues of immediate concern that arose last semester.
Though they have long been a concern of University officials, the alcohol and social events policies jumped to the top of the administration's agenda at the end of last semester after the Queer Alliance's Nov. 12 Sex Power God party garnered national media coverage and a melee on the Main Green the preceding evening ended with shots fired.
The Ad Hoc Committee to Review Social Events Policy and Procedure, created in November 2005, is charged to review "the problem of binge drinking (and) pre-gaming, violent behavior and the introduction of weapons into the community" and to consider which campus venues are best suited for large-scale social functions.
Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life, dean for student life and the committee's chair, said topics like event admission policy, door management and alcohol service have already been discussed by the committee. In the future, policies concerning what items can be brought into events, the use of metal detectors and other methods of screening partygoers and enforcement policies - including possible changes to residence hall staffing - will be considered, she said.
The committee will conclude its review by Feb. 27 and produce a public report outlining its recommendations, which will be presented to the Campus Life Advisory Board, the Undergraduate Council of Students and the campus life committee of the Brown Corporation. A new policy should be in place by Spring Weekend, Klawunn said.
It is not yet clear whether the policy review will simply clarify existing practices or produce more far-reaching changes.
"It's hard for me to say without seeing (the committee's) recommendations at this point," said David Greene, vice president for campus life and student services.
"I don't think we're going to see any real big changes in policy," said Tony Sheets '06, vice chair of Greek Council and a member of the review committee. "We're going to be evaluating a lot of parties to see what went well for them within the existing policies and see what didn't work. ... In general, most parts of the policy are pretty effective."
Meanwhile, the existing Campus Life Advisory Board Subcommittee on Alcohol and Other Drugs was asked to review the University's alcohol policy and consider the campus culture on alcohol and drug use.
"We are looking very broadly in that committee at whether we have the right policies in place, how we are enforcing them and whether we have the right culture," Klawunn said.
"There is no such thing as a foolproof (alcohol) policy," Greene said. "But we need to think about how to address behavior when students are putting themselves and others at risk."
The alcohol subcommittee, chaired by Nancy Barnett, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown's Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, is expected to release its findings by the end of the semester.
Administrators stress that formal policies will only be part of what the review produces.
"What we all recognize is that changing the policies will only get us partway to where we need to be with some of these issues," Greene said. "In the end, it's still about students taking responsibilities for their own actions and the actions of others. That's a big part of the culture at Brown."
The review "will address issues of policies and practices but will also look at issues of education, harm-reduction techniques and other ways to alter student behavior and student culture in a way that is healthier and eliminates risky behavior," Greene said.
Greene also said an education campaign will likely "target resources to first-year students in a very direct way" because data show that most alcohol-related incidents involve first-years.
Interim policies instituted
The interim social events policies - enacted at the beginning of the semester and in effect until a permanent policy is complete - were drafted to address concerns regarding parties held this semester.
According to Director of Student Activities Ricky Gresh, University officials last semester did not want to institute a moratorium banning all social events - as occurred in 1996 - while committees examined and revised the alcohol and social events policies. But since some problems in the existing policies had been identified, administrators created interim policies to account for the key elements that needed to be addressed while still allowing student groups to hold functions during the review process, Gresh said.
Administrators and student leaders involved with social functions told The Herald that the interim policies strengthen the previous policies by making some procedures more explicit and requiring some practices that were previously only encouraged or recommended.
"The interim policy contains a lot of things that had been included but not enforced, or encouraged but never official. The goal is to provide clear answers for exactly what to do in specific cases," Sheets said.
The interim policies more clearly outline practices concerning party admission, advertising, safety and security and alcohol service.
Gresh stressed that the policies are designed to provide broad guidelines so event organizers and attendees know what to expect when attending parties. "The idea with most of these policies is that every event is different, but we want to have policies that will work for most events," he said, adding that groups can request exceptions to the policies.
Administrators have also created a document outlining the roles and responsibilities of student event leaders, the SAO evening manager and Department of Public Safety officers at social functions. Gresh called this an effort to let student leaders know exactly what support they could expect from the SAO and DPS during social events.
The SAO hired Evening Student Event Manager Ronald Procopio, who only works for the University on Friday and Saturday nights, in November 2004 to work with student event managers and provide more administrative oversight at social events.
Thomas Hayes '98, who in 2004 was the interim coordinator for student activities but left the University to pursue other opportunities, was re-hired by the SAO last month as a second evening event manager.
Creation of the late night fund
A "late night fund" of $20,000 has been introduced for the Spring 2006 semester to encourage student groups to host alcohol-free social events on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The fund is designed in part to encourage student groups to introduce new and creative events. "The idea is that they can be small events or large events, but we are not looking for events that have historically happened," Gresh said. Existing events traditionally funded by the Undergraduate Finance Board or other sources are not eligible for the fund.
Gresh said the fund is not a direct result of Sex Power God and other incidents last semester; it was recommended last September but not introduced until this semester.
The fund will be managed by a board composed of representatives of the Student Union, UCS, Greek Council and cultural organizations, a student-at-large and administrators from the SAO and Health Education.
The 1996 review
The last major review of the University's social events and alcohol policies was precipitated by a series of incidents in September 1996 that troubled administrators and raised questions about student safety.
The Herald reported on Nov. 1, 1996 that during the first 34 days of the Fall 1996 semester, Brown Police and Security, since renamed DPS, logged 60 incidents of assault and alcohol-related offenses involving students - nearly double the 35 incidents reported during the same period the year before.
Two specific incidents caused increased concern about student safety. A Brown student was stabbed outside of Harambee House on Sept. 21, 1996, and another student was sexually assaulted at Phi Kappa Psi three weeks later.
In response, then-Dean of Student Life Robin Rose ordered a moratorium on all social functions for a two-week period in October 1996.
Rose stepped down as dean of student life in 2000 and is currently the associate dean for summer and continuing studies.
"The first month of the school year has seen an unacceptable number of incidents and altercations at campus social functions which have resulted in several serious injuries and an overall social environment which is unhealthy and unsafe," Rose wrote in a University memorandum announcing the moratorium.
Rose did not specifically mention the incidents at Harambee House or Phi Kappa Psi in her memorandum, but she did outline a variety of other concerns that had arisen since the beginning of the semester: "violations of fire safety codes, illegal service and provision of alcohol, inappropriate advertising, failure to check for college identifications and failure to keep an accurate guest list and numerous fights and other serious incidents in which students and University personnel have been injured."
The moratorium on social events was lifted at the end of the two-week period, but Rose ordered a ban on Class F alcohol licenses until a policy review committee completed its work. Class F licenses are required for any event in which alcohol is served and admission is charged.
Later that semester, a new set of policies - the basis of the University's current policies - was introduced and alcohol was re-introduced at campus parties.
The 1996 policy was refreshed in 2005 to consolidate additions, such as those dealing with the state's fire code and overcrowding, that had been introduced over the years.
Current administrators said they never seriously considered a similar moratorium to deal with the problems that arose last semester.
Greene said a moratorium was not necessary because "the vast majority of students at Brown behave in a way that is entirely consistent with the rules and regulations of the University and in a way that is not endangering the health or safety of themselves or others."
