Modapalooza draws College's watchful eye

Author: Scott Greene

Several students living in the Mods met with College residential administrators, including new Senior Residence Director Lee Zerrila, on Sept. 25 to discuss issues related to social activity in the area through the first few weeks of the fall term. Since Sept. 8, 39 of the 77 alcohol citations reported by the Department of Public Safety have been issued at the Mods, including thousands of dollars in keg fines to some residents.

At the meeting, Zerrila and Dean of Atwater Commons Scott Barnacle expressed concern about underage drinking, vandalism and public urination, according to Mason Graddock '09.

"It was an atmosphere of cooperation," he said. "We discussed what we can do to create a nice atmosphere for the people living down there that's also within the rules."

No threats of probation or other disciplinary action against the Mods' residents occurred at the meeting,

"We don't want it to turn into something where the liquor inspector gets word of this and kids are taken away in handcuffs because we supplied alcohol to minors," Graddock said. "It could end up being a larger problem than people just getting keg fines."

Zerilla, who works in the Dean of the College's office and coordinates with the five Commons to oversee all junior and senior residential spaces on campus, said the meeting took on a casual and conversational tone.

"The reasoning behind a meeting was to address some of the concerns stemming from the level of activity at the Mods during the first few weeks of the year," Zerrila said. "I was hoping to get representatives from each unit present in order to convey some of the thoughts, feelings and objectives from my level to the Mod community, and the members present were eager to discuss their perspective on the level of activity at the Mods."

That perspective, according to Graddock, is that students are willing to work with the administration but also want to continue the atmosphere that the Mods have generated over the past three weeks.

"In our minds, [a keg] is not an unsafe way for kids to be partying on campus," he said. "It gets kids out of their dorm rooms and not drinking hard alcohol. We were in favor of continuing the parties that we've been having."

Graddock added that "[the administrators] agreed, but ultimately it comes down to the simple fact that it's against the law to be supplying alcohol to minors."

Zerrila also emphasized the issue of the legal drinking age.

"It is important to remember that - all personal philosophies and feelings aside - the word of the law is 21, and the College does have policies governing common sources of alcohol and serving minors," he said. "In that regard, individuals should expect to be held accountable for their actions."

Still, Zerilla added that disciplinary action would hopefully be unnecessary going forward.

"In a perfect world, a good community is a self-regulating one where members are establishing their expectations of acceptable behaviors and holding each other mutually accountable," he said.

"In holding a meeting like this, our hope would be to establish a line of communication and allow the community to take time to examine itself before things are brought to a more stringent administrative level."