New alcohol policy works, says Jordan

the number of students requiring care for alcohol intoxication has declined and the College has closed the night coverage office (NCO), popularly called the “Drunk Tank,” due to lack of use.

The College implemented its new approach to drinking in September 2009 by closing the Health Center on weekend nights and implementing a “sober friend” policy that required friends of inebriated students to care of them. Members of the Residential Life Team staffed the NCO in the basement of Ross Commons to look after students without a sober friend.
Dean of Students Gus Jordan said the College made the decision to close the NCO in January.

“This was good news,” Jordan said. “It meant that sober students were stepping forward and taking care of their intoxicated friends, thus we did not need the office.”

Administrators report that the number of students intoxicated enough to require care from friends or in Porter Hospital has also declined over the year. During the 2008-09 year, public safety officers or friends transported 89 mild to moderately intoxicated students to the Health Center for observation. Through April of this year, Public Safety officers assigned 71 “sober friends” to moderately intoxicated students.

Jordan believes the statistics support the conclusion that the new alcohol policy is effective.

“I think the sober friend policy is working very well,” Jordan said. “Some students may be inconvenienced by this policy, but our hope is that students will encourage friends to avoid drinking to intoxication because of the negative impact this has on the community — and on one’s own friends.  Shipping intoxicated students off to the health center is not an effective approach to problematic drinking.”

The Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association (MVAA) has transported 12 students to Porter Hospital to date this year, the same number of students who were taken last year. Overall, close to 30 students have been taken to Porter Hospital for alcohol related conditions this year.

Assistant Dean of the College Karen Guttentag said alcohol often remains a major factor in cases bought before the Community Judicial Board (CJB).

“I have not noticed a difference in the general volume of alcohol-related cases coming before the CJB as a result of the new alcohol policy,” she said. “It contributes to accelerating physical and verbal altercations between students, plays a central role in incidents of hazing and sexual assault and often influences cases of vandalism.”

Despite the reduced numbers, Jordan does not believe the drinking culture at Middlebury has changed significantly.

“My primary concern is with problematic drinking, including alcohol abuse and the serious personal and community problems that stem from it,” he said. “When intoxicated, people are poor decision makers, and sometimes make serious errors in judgment.  Problematic drinking is something we all have to engage in— studaents, faculty and staff— if we are to make significant headway.””

Guttentag believes alcohol often prompts students to make regrettable decisions on behalf of intoxicated friends.

“Unfortunately, the disrespectful behavior directed to members of the Public Safety staff does not always stem from the inebriated students themselves, but often comes from sober students who think they are protecting their friends by interfering with Public Safety’s assessment efforts,” Guttentag said. “Needless to say, these students are doing no one any favors, and may in fact be directly jeopardizing the safety of the very people they are attempting to assist.”

In spite of the progress, Jordan believes the community must continue to discuss the issue of alcohol on campus.

“Students must step forward and look after each other if staff members step back,” he said. “This includes managing crowds, preventing underage drinking and effectively responding when a student is drinking too much.  If students do not take on these responsibilities, then staff must step in.  Personally, I find that infantilizing, but we are responsible to make sure students remain safe.”