Rider U. tightens alcohol policy

Rider University implemented a more stringent alcohol policy for this school year in response to freshman Gary DeVercelly's death by alcohol poisoning during a fraternity party last spring.

The new policy includes an outright ban on "the organization of, and/or attendance at social events or parties in residence halls or at Greek houses where alcoholic beverages are served."

The policy also prohibits public displays promoting alcohol and drinking games involving alcoholic consumption.

Students of legal drinking age, however, may gather in limited numbers to consume alcohol in dorm rooms or Greek houses provided that all doors remain closed under the new policy.

Administrators had considered banning all Greek life on campus, but the proposal was abandoned due to fears of drunk driving and binge drinking off campus. The new policy includes a "Good Samaritan" clause which protects underage students from punishment if they come to the aid of a sick student.

First-time violators of the policy will face fines starting at $100, parental notification, mandatory alcohol education and community service. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned with higher fines, loss of campus driving privileges, suspension or dismissal.

"Watchdogs" will monitor the fraternities and sorority residences in order to enforce the policy.

The revamped policy is drawing fire from some students.

"Rider isn't fun anymore," one anonymous student said, as reported by The Rider News. Another student was quoted as saying, "I think all the rules are ... the reason why [the] campus is sad at night."

The policy stems from a recommendation by a task force assembled by Rider president Mordechai Rozanski following DeVercelly's death. Other policies that were proposed and enacted by the task force, which was charged with reviewing the school's alcohol education and policy enforcement, include requiring incoming students to take the online AlcoholEDU course and a freshman seminar on alcohol.

Rider officials have said the alcohol ban is subject to change and that a full assessment of the program's success will be conducted at the end of the fall.

DeVercelly's death and Rider's subsequent actions raise questions for other universities about what measures are appropriate to protect students. While no alcohol-related deaths have occurred at Princeton in recent years, administrators said they are concerned about excessive drinking.

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"The thing that keeps me up at night is the possible consequences of high-risk drinking," Director of Public Safety Steven Healy told The Daily Princetonian last week.

"Right down the street at Rider University, we lost a student," he said in reference to the DeVercelly case. "That's my worst nightmare."

Vice President of Campus Life Janet Dickerson told the 'Prince' last year that Princeton has been "lucky" in not experiencing a drinking-related casualty. She declined to comment for this article.

"I don't think the safety here is greater than it is in most other places," she said. "I think we're very fortunate that we haven't had any more severe incidents than we've had."

The University has not indicated what its response would be should a similar tragedy occur at Princeton. University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 did not comment specifically on Rider's policy, saying that universities take actions that are specifically tailored to their needs.

"A response to any incident is dictated by the unique circumstances surrounding it," Cliatt said yesterday. "While we absolutely take alcohol abuse seriously, this really isn't the type of situation about which you can speculate, especially considering that each institution has its unique policies and campus culture."

The death of DeVercelly, an 18-year-old business administration student from Long Beach, Calif., sparked widespread discussion about alcohol abuse at universities last spring. He was found passed out on a bed at Rider's Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house on March 29 and was in a state of cardiac arrest. Though he was revived by emergency responders and rushed to Capital Health System's Fuld Campus in Trenton, he died about 30 hours later.

In August, a grand jury indicted two Rider administrators and three students on charges of aggravated hazing related to the death. The charges were dropped against the dean of students and the Greek life director, while charges remain against the three members of Phi Kappa Tau.

The fraternity's president, the pledge master and the student resident director pleaded not guilty. The residence director, Adriano DiDonato, is from Princeton.