Liquor Violations Rise Substantially

On Sept. 30, the Department of Public Safety released the College’s annual security report with statistics detailing a more than five-fold increase in student liquor violations. Of the many crimes listed that occurred on campus, including certain off-campus buildings owned or controlled by the college and public property within or adjacent to the campus, the increase in liquor law violations warranting disciplinary action proved to be the most substantial.

On-campus liquor violations increased from 16 students in 2010 to 90 students in 2012. Those occurring in residential facilities increased from 14 students to 57 students within the two years.

Liquor violations include any sort of possession of liquor of someone under the age of 21 and make no differentiation between the amount or type of alcohol.

“We count physical possession,” Director of Public Safety Lisa Burchard said. “We aren’t trying to determine internal possession or what alcohol might already be consumed.”

Student reactions to this increase were mixed. While some were quick to admit that they exist within a community where a drinking culture is very present, others were skeptical that dramatic of an increase was a real change in behavior.

“I think that college has been built up in everyone’s mind to be a lot more than getting a good education,” Annie Bourque ’16 said. “Drinking has become such a big expectation that it has gone overboard.”

Daniel Pena ’16 added  that the drinking culture is a sad reality that is a result of the stress and burdens a lot of students face.

Some students were much more inclined to think that this was a direct result of stricter efforts from Public Safety.

“I’m skeptical of the fact that hard alcohol intake increased dramatically in the last two years on campus,” Elliot VanValkenberg ’16 said. “My assumption would be that the change in the number of liquor violations has to do with the administration making deliberate changes in terms of student alcohol use.

The college is required by law to report crime statistics to the federal government under the Clery Act — an act signed in 1990 as a backlash result after the murder of student Jeanne Clery in her college residence hall. All colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs must disclose information on seven major categories of crime, including sexual offensives and burglaries as well as drug and alcohol violations, regardless if an arrest was made or not.

These statistics were compiled from interactions between Public Safety and students in addition to statistics given by Middlebury Police Department and the Vermont Department of Liquor Control, who sends a representative to evaluate alcohol use on campus. Very rarely, however, have encounters with Middlebury police resulted in arrests.

“There are actually two different types for alcohol violations,” Burchard said. “One type of violation occurs when there has been an arrest, and another type of violation occurs when there hasn’t been an arrest, even if it might have warranted one. Instead, the incidence is referred to the college for disciplinary actions.”

All of the statistics reported from years 2010-2012 have been the latter violation.

“Middlebury College takes the health and safety of its students seriously,” Vice President for Communications Bill Burger said. “We are looking into possible reasons for the change in reported numbers, which we believe is driven by several factors, including a return to full staffing levels in our Department of Public Safety, which reports many of the incidents.”

Felicia Tapia ’17 attests to the presence of Public Safety has on campus, especially within first-year dorms.

“Public Safety does come to Battell quite often and run pretty thorough checks,” Tapia said. “On the weekends you can always count on different officers walking through the dorms, and it appears their methods are quite effective.”

Katherine Tercek ’16 added that Public Safety has definitely cracked down on students in terms of alcohol consumption, which unfortunately encourage students under 21 to drink within the privacy of their rooms.

Although crime statistics are published annually as necessary protocol under the Clery Act, the administration feels there are other benefits to these reports.

“Statistics make people aware,” Burchard said. “The report also let’s people know not only that there are there things like this happening, but also that there are departments or agencies out there that handle these issues. We look closely at what’s being reported and see what we should share to the school community to help them better understand how to keep themselves safe. That’s what the Clery Act is really all about.”