Borough mayor delays discussion of alcohol ordinance until September

Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed said yesterday that he has decided to postpone discussion of the pending alcohol ordinance until September, following a heated public safety committee meeting March 30, which ended with the committee recommending introduction of the ordinance to the full council.

The ordinance — which would permit police to cite underage drinkers on private property — has been a pressing issue in town-gown affairs this year.

At the March meeting, Reed raised concerns about holding a public hearing during the University's reading and exam periods. "I promised the students I wouldn't do that so it will wait until the fall," he said. "We'd be putting them at a disadvantage."

Later in the meeting Borough Council president Mildred Trotman asked Inter-Club Council advisor Alice Teti '00 to prepare information about the ICC's new wristband policy by early the following week. Teti has yet to deliver the requested information, according to Reed.

ICC president Cindy Drakeman '02 said the ICC has had several meetings to compile information but is still working on a final draft. Teti was not available for comment.

Though the council planned to introduce the ordinance at its April 24 meeting, Reed decided to hold the ordinance off the agenda because the council would not have time to analyze the ICC's policy before the meeting. Delaying introduction until May would have pushed discussion of the ordinance past Commencement, leaving students unable to participate in the decision.

Both University Director of Community and State Affairs Pamela Hersh and USG president Joe Kochan '02 said they view the postponement as a success.

"I'm very excited about it," Kochan said. "The fact that they are going to take into consideration what we said is a great success. It's not a unilateral decision to be made."

This new delay is another example of the relatively slow process that the Borough has taken in deciding on the ordinance. While the ordinance flew through passage in nearby towns like Lawrence, Ewing and West Windsor, it has been more than seven months since the council first heard about the ordinance.

"It's disappointing that we can't [discuss] it in May," councilman David Goldfarb said, adding that he is concerned about the possible increase in alcohol-related incidents because of the warmer weather. "It's a little unfortunate."

Goldfarb has been one of the leading proponents of the ordinance on the council.

Borough Police Chief Thomas Michaud explained the N.J. state law that allows towns to adopt the ordinance to the council last September.

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University students quickly bemoaned the possibility of an ordinance — which council members admitted was meant to target underage drinking at the eating clubs. Former ICC president Dan Winn '01 and other campus leaders encouraged students to change their voting registration from their home district to Princeton in order to support council members who opposed the ordinance.

Before council elections in November, nearly all council members, in addition to Borough Mayor Marvin Reed and Borough Administrator Bob Bruschi, expressed hesitation about such an ordinance, Some officials used terms like "absolutely" and "100 percent" to describe their level of opposition to the ordinance.

After elections, the ordinance remained dormant for several months while the public safety committee focused on livery licenses and awaited advice from community groups such as Corner House, which provides counseling for teenage substance abusers, and the Human Services Commission — a group that oversees the youth services department in addition to other groups.

However, the ordinance resurfaced in February after council members learned of dozens of alcohol-related injuries and sexual assaults that occurred on campus, some of which Borough Police linked to the eating clubs.

In November and December, Borough police arrested individuals involved with two sexual assaults that occurred on campus and were reported to Public Safety. The University usually goes years without police having to arrest a sexual offender for an incident on campus, Borough Police Capt. Charles Davall said.

In addition to these incidents, 15 students received medical attention at McCosh Health Center, Princeton Medical Center and Capital Health System in Trenton for alcohol-related injuries and severe intoxication during the weekend of eating club initiations, Feb. 9 and 10. Police believed all these incidents stemmed from excessive drinking at the eating clubs.

In the wake of these incidents and prompted by monthly police reports, council members began to reexamine the issue in February. The long-awaited response from the Human Services Commission urged against the ordinance. But the discussion finally reached a climax at last month's public safety committee meeting when the committee recommended the ordinance to the full council for discussion.

Support for the ordinance among council members has been split since the February initiations. It remains unclear what the council will do with the ordinance if and when it comes up for discussion.