Borough, club officials consider solutions to binge drinking problem

If anything can be concluded from last night's American Whig-Cliosophic Society forum on a possible Borough ordinance concerning underage drinking, it is that controversy over campus drinking problems is far from dead.

Representatives from the Borough government, Borough Police, eating clubs and counseling agencies all met for the first time in a formal setting to discuss the ordinance. That ordinance would permit police to cite underage drinkers on private property.

While the major goal of the discussion was to clarify misconceptions about the ordinance, a key focus was handling underage and excessive drinking.

Steven Abt '04, a candidate for Borough Council; Borough Police Chief Charles Davall; Gary DeBlasio of the alcohol counseling agency Corner House; Inter-Club Council president Cindy Drakeman '02; Pat Lyons of the Princeton Alcohol and Drug Alliance; Borough Councilman Roger Martindell and Borough Mayor Marvin Reed sat on the panel while Borough Council members and eating club and USG officers answered questions from the audience.

Midway through the forum, the topic drifted to counseling as an additional solution to preventing alcohol-related injuries.

"It seems to be that we've all come to the consensus that we should abandon this ordinance and discuss counseling as an effective means to deal with the problem," USG president Joe Kochan '02 said.

Though not all panel members agreed to cast off the idea of an ordinance, they acknowledged that counseling offenders is a viable option.

The shift in focus resulted partially from comments made by Kelly Pellicci '02, a Cap & Gown Club officer. Most underage drinking occurs before students go to the 'Street,' she said, adding that clubs may never serve a student who is hospitalized.

"One or two beers is the most anyone is going to get at an eating club," she said. "That does not send someone to [McCosh Health Center] or [Princeton Medical Center]. Eleven shots of cheap vodka in a dorm room does."

Many students, including Pellicci, said the University is not addressing the issue of binge drinking as effectively as it could and is letting the eating clubs "take the fall" for campus drinking problems.

One obstacle hindering the momentum of discussion was the absence of a University administrator. Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan was invited to attend or submit a written statement, but was too busy to do either, said Jon Ophardt '03, who mediated the forum.

However, Pamela Hersh, the University's community and state affairs director, rebuffed the suggestions that the administration is not confronting the issue.

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"Since I've been here, the University has put more resources than ever into trying to deal with drinking," she said, "particularly in abuse of drinking on campus, off campus and wherever students drink."

Though many audience members applauded the idea of counseling as a solution, others questioned the feasibility of enforcing counseling.

Councilman David Goldfarb said an ordinance may be the most effective route.

Davall explained the difficulty his department has had in curbing underage drinking.

"Our frustration is we don't see any improvement," he said. "Because of that we have gone on the defensive and are enforcing ordinances that are already on the books."

Police have issued 56 ordinance violations on Prospect Avenue since students returned to campus, he said, adding that he expected the level of enforcement to continue. On recent weekend nights, police have patrolled the 'Street' and have ticketed students for carrying an open container in public, littering and possessing alcohol under the legal age.

Drakeman stressed the effort that clubs have made to tighten security at the tap, citing the clubs' policy of distributing wristbands to students who are 21 years old and above.

Reed, however, said the bracelet plan was not sufficient enforcement on the clubs' part.

"Just giving everybody a bracelet isn't going to be enough," he said.

At the end of the forum, the parties agreed to reconvene to discuss solutions further.

The alcohol ordinance has been a thorny topic in town-gown affairs since June 2000, when former N.J. Gov. Christie Whitman signed a bill allowing municipalities to adopt such ordinances.