Sanctions, panel incite questions

When students arrived on campus this year, they were met with more than new residence halls and fresh textbooks. Undergraduates were also greeted with a matrix of University-issued alcohol and drug sanctions, with fines up to $400 for multiple offenses. Since the matrix's introduction, a slew of criticism has fallen on Boston College's department of student affairs, with grievances ranging from distress over the hefty fines to questions regarding the policy's hasty issuance.

The Residence Hall Association (RHA) held a panel on Thursday night in an effort to address such concerns.

Paul Chebator, senior associate dean for student development, Robyn Priest, assistant dean for the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD), Monica Parchesky, assistant director of Residential Life, and Brent Ericson, associate dean of ODSD, sat on the panel; RHA President Sarah Grebowski, A&S '09, moderated. Students were invited to submit questions to be asked of administrators.

The panel's attendees, though, were not as numerous as the complaints that have rained on the sanctions since their introduction two weeks ago; Grebowski estimated that 60-70 students attended the event held in Fulton 511.

"I was expecting to see more people at the event," said Chris Denice, president of the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) and CSOM '09. "I was a little surprised considering the number of questions I've heard in passing."

Priest opened the panel by addressing the research that the sanctions were founded on.

"Students and administrators have had discussions and have come to the consensus that we have alcohol and drug issues on this campus to be concerned about," she said. "BC students drink in a high-risk way. The percentage of BC students engaging in binge drinking is higher than the national average."

Priest said that research shows that the most effective deterrent to inappropriate use of alcohol or drugs is a perceived certainty of facing sanctions for not complying with a law or policy.

For Chebator, the sanctions come as a way to break down one of the largest barriers to learning on campus. "Eighty-eight percent of students thought alcohol was the biggest problem on campus," he said. "For some students, alcohol is a barrier to learning."

Chebator said the sanctions also came in response to requests from students that the administration clarify its policy on such matters.

"Students have asked for a number of things - more clarity in the process itself," he said. "Another piece that people have been asking for has been the amnesty policy. We'll be turning off a rough draft of the policy to the alcohol task force, and hopefully by the end of the semester we'll have further word of what that might look like."

All four administrators also emphasized that the sanctions are not new.

"What we've really done is codified them," Chebator said. "This is what we've been operating off of for the past few years."

In response to a spattering of specific questions, Ericson said, "In a lot of these individual situations, we'll take them as they arise on a case-by-case basis." The policy clarifies minimum sanctions, but a student having a beer or two will suffer a punishment less severe than a student who is sent to the hospital, he said.

Many students expressed consternation over the fact that, according to the matrix, a sober student found in the presence of alcohol has committed a violation of policy.

"It's watching other people break the law," Parchesky said. "You're making a responsible decision, but watching other people drink doesn't help the problem we're trying to deal with."

Other students expressed concerns over the fines mandated by the matrix. "The fines are twofold," Chebator said. "They are a deterrent, and if a student has a unique situation and can't pay the fines, we will deal with that on an individual basis."

Chebator said that the money collected from fines will be used for research, assessment, intervention programs, and alternative programming, to be allotted by a committee.

Christopher Poulos, member of the UGBC Senate and A&S '09, said he thought the fines were harsh and unreasonable. "I found the fines to be outrageous. I don't know how much is actually going to go into the late-night programming fund," he said. "And it's a lot of money to ask of students."

Denice said he took issue with the way administrators say they will issue the fines.

"They've been talking about having a conversation that will allow students that need it to do community service in lieu of the fines," he said. "But the issue is who exactly will determine that for them. Will they have to show financial records to student services? Is it right to put a student in that position? I think fines in general are common, but I think the school needs a clear position on a student's need versus their ability to pay."

Another question expressed concerns that the matrix overlooks the concerns of the student body, much in the manner the printing and speaker policies were formed.

"I acknowledge that we should have done a better job consulting students, but time was an issue," Chebator said. "You don't know everything we know about the situations occurring on campus. We have numbers of students every week taken to the hospital or infirmary."

Student leaders said they hope to see more student input in such future policies.

"I think it's important in the future to create some sort of protocol when there is an instance when the administration wants to implement a new policy that they somehow consult student representatives before anything is implemented," Poulos said. "We are elected representatives and because it has to do with drinking and dorms, residency and RHA, I think student representation is important before anything happens."