Spring Fling boozin’, beer pong at the frats, Jell-O shots in LoRise: all may become off-limits to students if proposed policies banning open containers of alcohol, hard liquor, and large containers of alcohol, such as kegs, are approved. These bans would apply to all University students, regardless of age.
The measures, proposed by new Assistant Dean of Student Services Scott Backer, represent a change in alcohol policy at Wesleyan, which has not restricted the access and consumption of alcohol to students of legal drinking age. The policies would apply to all Wesleyan students on University property, including in woodframe houses.
The open cup ban would extend a Middletown ordinance banning open containers of alcohol in public areas to Wesleyan’s campus. The proposal, which was made available to The Argus, suggests banning “open containers and alcohol consumption in open areas such as Foss Hill and Andrus Field.”
The ban has obvious implications for large student events such as Spring Fling and the student activities that traditionally take place on April 20. The bans would extend to areas in dorms as well, according to Micah Feiring ’11, a member of the Drug Enforcement Policy Subcommittee, a subsection of the University’s Alcohol and Other Drugs Committee, which is considering the proposals. The Drug Enforcement Policy Subcommittee also reports to the Student Life Committee.
“The open cup policy would extend to all undergraduate residential life,” Feiring said. “Students couldn’t walk into a hall with an open cup without breaking the rule.”
When discussing the hard alcohol ban, Feiring pointed out that over-consumption of hard alcohol is primarily responsible for most alcohol poisoning cases on campus, and should be discouraged to ensure student safety.
“We want to encourage beer and wine and discourage the use of hard alcohol,” Feiring said. “We want to encourage an environment where students can drink responsibly.”
The final proposed policy would require all kegs to be registered before they are brought on campus. The policy would affect some of the larger parties on campus, where kegs are a cost-effective means of serving large groups of people.
Feiring suggested that the combined effect of the three policies would encourage consumption of alcohol in private places and in a shorter amount of time.
“All three policies would promote pre-gaming, a practice known to lead to alcohol poisoning in some cases,” Feiring said.
Many have expressed reservations as to whether Backer’s proposals can be enforced with any effectiveness.
Director of Public Safety Dave Meyer expressed reservations about the proposed alcohol policies because of difficulties he foresaw in enforcing and managing them.
The next steps for the proposed measure are unclear; however, the proposal will need approval from both the Drug Enforcement Policy Committee and the Alcohol and Other Drugs Committee before being enacted.
WSA member Allison Quantz ’10, who sits on the subcommittee, worries that students will see the proposals as an attempt by the University to control their personal lives.
“I think students get the idea that it’s just a bunch of administrators sitting around making up rules against them, but the Wesleyan decision process is surprisingly democratic,” Quantz said.