“I hope that the Borough will be able to approach this issue compassionately and logically,” he said. “I will do everything I can to ensure that students have no reason to hesitate to make the call and do what we have been told to do since the time we arrived as freshmen.”
To begin addressing the issue, Diemand-Yauman met in mid-December with Borough Council president Margaret Karcher and Corner House director Gary DeBlasio. Corner House is an agency funded by Princeton Borough and Township to offer drug and alcohol treatment for local residents.
“I want to make it clear that my intentions for this meeting are completely separate from my own experience,” said Diemand-Yauman, who was charged in September by Borough police for serving alcohol to a minor. “My own experiences allowed me to see the deficiencies of this situation.”
The Borough should consider changing local laws on underage drinking in order to encourage responsible behavior by students, Diemand-Yauman added.
“I’m confident that very few of [the council members] would want their child prosecuted for doing exactly what they have been [taught] to do in these situations,” he said. “I would say that when students’ lives are at stake, everything else seems to become of secondary concern.”
University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt ’96 emphasized that students will not face disciplinary action as a result of calling for medical aid for an intoxicated underage student. She echoed Diemand-Yauman in noting the importance of health first.
“When a person needs medical attention, we don’t want hesitation,” she said. “The last question should be, ‘Am I going to get in trouble for this?’ ”
Cliatt also said that the University wants to “work progressively” with the Borough to ensure that there is no disincentive for students to make such calls.
She explained that the University’s policies regarding underage intoxication are consistent with state and local laws. Current New Jersey laws do not prohibit underage intoxication, but individuals who provide alcohol to minors are held in violation of the law.
“New Jersey just happens to have that glitch in the law: It’s not illegal for a minor to drink on private property,” Karcher said. “A minor who gets very drunk and places himself in jeopardy hasn’t broken any New Jersey rule.” According to state law, the person who purchased the alcohol that the underage person has consumed is the only one in violation of the law.
Karcher also explained that the Borough Police work under a state statute rather than a local law when they investigate cases of underage drinking. They are required to determine, if possible, if there was any person who served that minor. If so, that person is charged under state law for serving alcohol to minors.
Karcher said that the Borough doesn’t actively target students.
“Our police don’t roam your halls looking for trouble,” she said.
Like Cliatt, Karcher recognized that any laws that discourage calls for medical help could have far-reaching consequences.
“I think that there is ground that the University and Borough can meet on,” Karcher said. “I fear that we are going to have an unintended consequence. Someone will make the decision not to call.”
The New Jersey state legislature was considering making it illegal for minors to be intoxicated. The body opted not to pass the law, instead leaving the decision up to individual municipalities. Princeton, along with several other college towns, decided not to pass the ordinance.
“It was opposed by parents, who felt that there was a chance that their child, who was still in high school, might go to a party and [end up with] a record,” Karcher said.
She explained that the first time this ordinance was considered, there was no “Good Samaritan” clause. With such a clause, a person of any age could call for help for an intoxicated friend and would not be charged, she explained.
“I’ve always felt that the parents’ fears were not warranted,” Karcher said. “I’m beginning to think that the time is right for us to have this discussion again.”
At this point, however, the ordinance is not yet being formally discussed.
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