A refined and revised response to alcohol abuse on campus is in the works and was presented to Ohio University's Student Senate at its meeting last night.
Judy Piercy, assistant vice president for student affairs and interim director of the Department of Residence Life, presented proposals for change created by OU President Roderick McDavis and OU's Coalition Advocating Responsible Drinking Decisions, which includes strengthening the University Judiciaries process and applying past research on the effectiveness of anti-alcohol programs now on campus.
President McDavis asked for this set of recommendations to be shared with students to receive your input
Piercy said.
Research by the Division of Student Affairs' Alcohol Response Task Force conducted since Spring Quarter 2005 focused mainly on OU's level of alcohol abuse versus the national norm, Piercy said.
About 74 percent of OU students interviewed said they were using alcohol at a high-risk level, compared to 48 percent of students nationally, according to a recent survey, Piercy said.
What we had to come to grips with is that the norm for drinking at OU is much higher than the national norm she said.
One of the central concerns of McDavis, Dean of Students Terry Hogan and the task force is the way University Judiciaries handles punishments from alcohol violations, Piercy said, adding that Hogan said the judiciary process lacks consistency in its response to alcohol violations.
New guidelines for sanctioning will be added to judiciary policy that do not follow any kind of three strikes rule much like other universities, Piercy said. Instead, judiciaries will enforce punishments through disciplinary probation and alcohol audits, which place the student in different programs based on the intensity of the alcohol abuse. These programs, such as the Second Chance Program, the Prime for Life Class and BASICS Intervention will ideally be an assessment of progress in decreasing alcohol-related problems, Piercy said, adding that OU officials are working to increase funds for weekend activities such as Baker Nights and Laughter After Dark. Piercy asked student senators to respond to the recommendations next week with questions and further suggestions.
-Natalie Farinacci
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Natalie Farinacci
