Drinking? You have the right to remain silent

Like it or not, alcohol is a prominent part of campus social life. But when consumption goes too far, students may find themselves interacting with University or Princeton Borough officials rather than other drunken revelers.

Despite efforts by administrators and public officials to clarify University policy and legal ramifications, rumors about interactions with health officials, Public Safety and the police fly around campus, leading to uncertainty as students try to distinguish between reality and myth.

Answers to these questions and others are commonly passed down from student to student. But not everything that's said on the Street may be true, and there are a few things that are left out of the commonly told stories.

The experience of being 'McCoshed'

While relatively few face legal consequences stemming from alcohol violations, a significant number of students, at some point in their Princeton careers, become ill due to alcohol consumption. Upon arrival on campus, students are informed by their RCAs and through information sessions that they should seek help from University Health Services (UHS) if they — or any of their friends — are drunk. But whether they follow that advice is less certain.

Interim Director of UHS Janet Finnie '84 acknowledges that students have skewed perceptions of what it is like to be "McCoshed," that is, to go to McCosh Health Center while inebriated. "We are concerned that many students are unclear about UHS policies and procedures," Finnie said in an email. "We work hard to get the message out that this is a safe place to come."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one undergraduate recalled her experience of being sent to UHS. "I had blacked out and was throwing up in the bathroom of my building," she said. "Someone sent me to McCosh, but I don't remember who. [Public] Safety drove me."

Once there, the student had her blood alcohol level checked. It registered at 0.135, which is characterized by slurred speech and a lack of motor control but does not typically demand critical medical attention. "The nurses made me drink water, eat crackers and lie down, and they made me spend the night," she said.

According to UHS policy, once the student's blood alcohol falls within a normal range and the student is aware and alert, he or she must meet with UHS staff members: At a minimum, nurses and counselors meet with students to recommend follow-ups and give them clearance to leave.

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Both during her treatment at McCosh and at her counseling session, the student answered questions about her alcohol consumption and other behavior that evening but was not pressed for specifics. "The nurses asked me if I was being hazed, if I was playing drinking games, where I drank and what I drank," said the student, who is not a member of an eating club. "I said I was at the Street, but they didn't ask at which clubs."

UHS officials say these questions are necessary to better understand the behavior of the particular student and of the general student body. "Part of a thorough clinical assessment involves obtaining information about what has happened to lead to the inpatient admission," Finnie said. "Clinicians do ask questions about where drinking occurred, [whether it was] in a club or a dorm. This information is for UHS internal or aggregated use only."

The student said she found some of the other questions more invasive, however. "They asked me if I had had unprotected or unwanted sex that night and whether or not my panties were still on," she said. Officials say these questions are also necessary in order to ensure thorough medical treatment.

Finnie said that a common misconception that UHS officials try to dispel is that students can get into trouble with the University for underage drinking simply by seeking out medical care. "Students do not incur disciplinary consequences for coming to McCosh," Finnie said.

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While UHS officials kept the anonymous student's visit private, however, Public Safety notified her RCA and the head of her residential college of the event since she had ridden in a Public Safety vehicle to seek treatment.

"The counselor told me that if I went to CHOICES [UHS' alcohol education group], my dean would probably drop it," she said. "I also think she wanted me to go because I said I'd blacked out before."

Overall, the student said she was satisfied with the care she received and understood the actions taken by UHS.

"I didn't want to be there ... but I understand why they did it," she said. "It was embarrassing, and I don't want to get that drunk again."

Other students approached about their experiences at McCosh refused to be quoted for this story, even anonymously.

Dealing with Public Safety

Many students who come in contact with Public Safety because of alcohol-related incidents do so because a friend or bystander called to get them medical attention. But contrary to popular belief, campus police are not necessarily looking to get them in trouble.

"First and foremost, the priority is to get them medical help at McCosh, or the University Medical Center," said Charles Davall, deputy director of Public Safety. "I can't be any stronger about that point; it's our primary concern."

Davall said that Public Safety officers ask students where they were that night to see if others might need help or if a University violation had occurred.

If asked, students are not required to say where they have been that night or who gave them alcohol. If they do choose to reveal that information, Public Safety then has the right to investigate the rooms of the individuals who are named, Davall explained.

Public Safety is also authorized to go to a room after receiving a noise complaint or hearing sounds of partying while on patrol; officers can only enter the room, however, if there is evidence of alcohol consumption, according to "Right, Rules and Responsibilities."

The violations they look for include students participating in drinking games, carrying open containers of alcohol in a common space, possessing a keg, serving alcohol to a person who is under 21 and any prohibited behavior that stems from being intoxicated. Serving alcohol is one of the most common violations.

"You don't have to physically hand them a drink," Davall said. "But just having it available is considered serving." Even students who are over 21 are not allowed to have a party that serves alcohol without permission from the dean of students.

Simply being drunk and underage is not a violation of University policy, however, nor can a student be questioned because he or she is drinking from a cup or container in a public place.

While consequences for violations of University policy can range from a warning to expulsion, most first-time violations result in disciplinary probation and possibly campus service. "The deans take violations of [Rights, Rules and Responsibilities] very seriously," Davall said. "The discipline process is real. University discipline can follow you throughout your career."

Facing the state

Navigating the university's alcohol policy is tricky enough, but students who drink at the Street should also be aware of Borough Police practices. As evidenced by the recent legal charges against Tiger Inn, Cottage Club and Cloister Inn, eating clubs fall under the jurisdiction of the police.

Lt. David Dudeck said that students who receive medical attention do not usually face criminal charges unless they were holding a container of alcohol in view of an officer. If a student is found guilty of serving a minor, the sentence could last up to six months. But both Dudeck and Richard Uslan, a local lawyer, said a more likely consequence would be a fine and possibly admittance into an alcohol education program.

Students may come into contact with Borough Police if they are carrying an open container of alcohol in a public space or are in possession of alcohol as a minor. In each case, the student is considered to be committing a disorderly person's offense under the New Jersey Criminal statute.

Another way students may come in contact with Borough Police is if they become so intoxicated that UHS decides to defer medical treatment of the student to the University Medical Center at Princeton (UMCP). For a student to be sent to UMCP, Public Safety must enlist Borough Police to arrange for an ambulance pickup.

Borough Police has come to campus for alcohol-related incidents over 20 times since the beginning of this school year, Dudeck said. Like Public Safety, the police can also ask intoxicated students where they got alcohol.

"The best course of action is to exercise your right to remain silent," said Uslan, who has represented many clients accused of alcohol violations. "If you don't want to get the person who gave you alcohol in trouble, don't tell who it was."

If students do choose to talk, the police can pursue an investigation. "A police officer may say that he won't get you in trouble if you tell who gave you the alcohol," Uslan said. "But police officers don't have to keep their promises at that point ... Police are allowed to use those kinds of ploys to get that kind of information."