USG hosts mayor to discuss alcohol

Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed downplayed the possibility of a moratorium on undercover police action on Prospect Avenue and would not commit to a stance on the proposed alcohol ordinance at a USG meeting held in the Frist Campus Center yesterday evening.

USG president Pettus Randall '04 presented Reed with a resolution last night calling for a moratorium on undercover operations on the Street. Among other things, the resolution said that, "the recent aggressiveness of Borough Police investigations on Prospect Avenue is increasing the potential medical risks to Princeton students and should be reconsidered."

Reed said he did not support a moratorium, suggesting that adopting such a policy would be akin to putting up a "free beer sign" on the Street.

Reed said that he would not decide until April whether or not to support the proposed alcohol ordinance — which would let police issue citations to underage drinkers on private property. Reed is waiting to hear from local government committees investigating the proposal before making a decision.

Senators, U-Councilors and Reed agreed that alcohol consumption on and around the University campus is a serious issue that needs consideration. Most of the discussion centered on the proper response to this problem.

"[T]he primary goal of all parties affected by high-risk student alcohol consumption should be to maximize the health and safety of students," the USG wrote in the resolution.

The town and the University have been "talking about alcohol for 255 years," Reed said. "It's a topic that never goes away in the town or on the campus."

Undercover action

Many of the questions students asked concerned recent undercover police action that resulted in three Colonial Club and one Quadrangle Club officers being charged with serving alcohol to minors and maintaining a nuisance.

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The undercover police officers were in the clubs in November, investigating possible drug dealing, but while there, they observed drinking violations, Reed said. The club officers were issued summonses Feb. 4.

Reed said there has been no talk about shutting down any of the eating clubs because of issues about alcohol consumption. However, there is a "credibility problem" with the clubs' officers, who Reed said had repeatedly told him and Borough Police that they were taking measures, including the use of wristbands and the checking of identification, to combat underage drinking. The officers found none of these measures in place during their investigation, Reed said.

Class senator Josh Anderson '04 asked how the officers were able to enter the clubs, as he said he had never been able to enter a club without at least passing a bouncer, an experience that the majority of students present shared.

Reed said the officers did not need to use fake identification of any kind. The officers dressed as students, and they "must have looked like attractive students" Reed said, half-jokingly.

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Several student government representatives said they thought both the undercover police efforts and the proposed alcohol ordinance would be a step in the wrong direction. Brandon Parry '06 said he couldn't see how cracking down on drinking violations on the Street would make anyone safer. He praised the current policies that let students take inebriated friends to McCosh Health Center without fear of repercussions.

One student suggested that the ill effects of the undercover investigation are already being felt. One of the clubs whose officers had been charged had not sent any students to McCosh during the course of the year leading up to the investigation. However, the weekend after the charges were filed, four freshmen were transported from that club to the infirmary after they felt the effects of the alcohol they had previously consumed in a dorm room, he said.