Earlier this week, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) Senate passed a resolution to establish a committee to review the University's new alcohol and drug sanction policy. The "matrix" has been of great student concern since administrators institutionalized this revised policy at the beginning of the semester.
"The main concerns include the severity of the fines and the severity of the sanctions, coupled with the lack of an amnesty policy," said Christopher Poulos, member of the UGBC Senate and A&S '09.
According to a statement issued by the UGBC, "Students have voiced considerable concern regarding the abrupt nature in which these policies were adopted and implemented without considerable student input and without consultation."
The committee, Poulos said, will be composed of UGBC Senate members but will require extensive assistance and support from the student body in its efforts.
Contrary to the traditional UGBC committees that are composed of its members, the committee formed in reaction to the alcohol and drug sanction policy will incorporate members of the student body not affiliated with the UGBC.
"We will be taking several students who are outside the UGBC but are passionate about the issue and placing them on the committee," Poulos said. "The main reason for doing this is to encompass other opinions and foster the passion of other students interested in this issue. We don't want those passions to die because nothing can be done about them."
The committee will both monitor the progress of the alcohol and drug sanctions and research the policies of other academic institutions to highlight ideas for potential use. In addition, the members will examine the nature of alcohol and drug use in an effort to play an active role in shaping the well-being of BC students.
"We want to advocate for the concerns of the students, but look out for the safety and well-being of students too," said Al Dea, Senate vice president and CSOM '10. "This is not aimed to criticize policy or to point fingers, but rather to proactively and constructively address issues that are concerns of students."
The line between student rights and student safety, though, is a fine line to walk.
"It's difficult to talk about this in terms of student rights. Many students here are under 21," Poulos said. "We don't want to put students in harm's way or make it easy for them to drink, but we want a fair policy that will facilitate a better environment for students."
The resolution, Poulos said, was first discussed by the Senate after a panel held by the Residence Hall Association, which allowed students to ask questions of the administrators regarding the alcohol and drug sanctions.
"After the panel, we saw that the administration was open to hearing our thoughts once the semester was over. We think this is definitely a good way to go about making change," he said.
The research that the resolution called for will touch on a broad spectrum of issues. As the committee begins researching policies implemented at other universities, many factors will be taken into consideration.
"We plan on researching drinking culture at Jesuit schools, ACC schools, and schools in the Boston area. We're grappling with a lot of different cultural issues," Poulos said. "We want to do as much research as we can to make a better educated recommendation."
"[The administration] kept saying that BC has more of a drinking community than other schools, and we want to investigate that," Dea said. "At the root of all this is safety concerns for students."
The committee will culminate in December with a report that will encompass both the research conducted by the committee members and their analysis of the examination of the policy over the course of the semester. The committee will most likely make a recommendation to the administration at this time, Poulos said.
"The Senate is becoming more and more representative of the student body, and that's our main goal," Poulos said. "That said, we recognize that this is a student concern, and we really want to pursue it. Whether we can make changes or not, we want to make sure the student voices are heard."
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