Council tackles state liquor laws

Author: Kathryn Flagg

In its first meeting of the year, the Community Council voted unanimously Monday to uphold the spirit of the new interpretation of the liquor law - including mandatory guest lists for registered parties - while preserving as much individual student responsibility as possible. While the new interpretation will necessitate a "cultural shift" on campus, the Council adjourned largely optimistic.

"Overall, I'm glad the Council is still working in the spirit of individual student responsibility and not att/Pratize everything," said Student Co-Chair of Community Council J.S. Woodward '06. "Although I do certainly believe that we're in an unfortunate situation with regards to the new interpretations of the state liquor law, I don't think things are nearly as bleak as they seemed in the spring."

All policy changes made in the wake of this new interpretation are being made in addition to existing College policy. Under the new interpretation of the law, party hosts must be a resident in the commons where a registered party is taking place. Furthermore, in accordance with Vermont state law, admittance to parties at which alcohol is being served will be limited to invited guests only. Under this stipulation, party hosts must provide a physical guest list that will be available at the event upon request by the Department of Public Safety or the State Liquor Inspector.

"Middlebury's actually catching up to the rest of the state," said Douglas Adams, director of the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership. "The rest of the state actually already has most of the policies put in, which has led institutions to either go one of two directions: dry, not allowing any alcohol on campus, or a party-free area, where students don't actually host parties on campus."

"We're the exception to the norm in Vermont," he continued.

Because the "law does not recognize the special status of college campuses," as Dean of the College Tim Spears said, the implementation of new interpretations automatically causes complications for the College's social life.

That said, "the law is not looking at underage drinking primarily," said Adams. "It's looking at drinking, period."

The new interpretation will have the most significant effect on large social spaces on campus - those areas traditionally used for registered parties, including commons lounges and the social houses.

The College is in the final stages of licensing on-campus spaces for parties - a measure that will eliminate students' need to apply to the state 21 days in advance to hold catered, registered parties. Licensed social spaces will include Atwater Dining Hall, Proctor Dining Hall and the McCullough Student Center. Dining Services is also exploring the possibility of licensing student bartenders for registered events.

The Council primarily addressed the question of guest lists - what constitutes a guest list, how invited guests should be defined and the maximum number of guests that should be invited to an event. The Council also questioned both the College's role in setting policy and the feasibility of enforcing new policy.

"Our understanding is that it is Middlebury College's responsibility to educate our students about what their responsibilities are according to the law," said Adams. "Part of this is trying to provide an opportunity for these type of functions to still take place at Middlebury College and the state has actually allowed for a lot of leeway," Adams said.

"It is a cultural shift," he said. "There's going to be a change in the way things happen on campus, and we understand that."

According to Woodward, several important determinations remain for the Community Council - including the exact number of people allowed to be invited to any given registered party and the amount of alcohol that can be purchased for the party. He remains cautiously optimistic.

"While not ideal, things are far from disastrous," Woodward said.