Post-Bicker transports for drunk students reached decade-high level

transported 16 intoxicated students

The jump in the number of students transported to UMCP for alcohol-related incidents in particular is even more pronounced. Eleven students were transported to UMCP last weekend, compared to an average of 4.3 transports to UMCP over the past decade. Students requiring more serious treatment are transported to UMCP rather than McCosh, University spokeswoman Emily Aronson explained in an e-mail.

Of the students transported to McCosh and UMCP this year, 14 were under the age of 21. This was also significantly higher than the average of five underage transports over the previous decade’s Bicker pickup weekends.

The Daily Princetonian obtained data on transports from the University on Thursday afternoon. The transport numbers, which span from 10 a.m. on Friday morning to 6 a.m. on Sunday morning, are not limited to students who participated in pickups or initiations, Aronson noted.

The unusually high number of transports does not reflect the increased efforts by students, faculty and staff to combat dangerous drinking on campus, said Amy Campbell, the director of Campus Life Initiatives and staff co-chair of the Alcohol Coalition Committee.

Still, she added, that does not mean the numbers are not alarming.

“Anytime the wellbeing of a student or students are affected, it’s something that we’re concerned about,” she said.

But the 16 transports may also indicate a more positive change in the campus community, Campbell said, because the statistics are potentially indicative of “a message that’s gotten across to students that if you have a concern about a fellow student, get that student help.”

“The fact that there were a number of students [who] either called for help or were brought to UHS to me signals that students are taking very seriously their obligation to get their friends help, which is a really good thing,” she added.

Maria Flores-Mills, associate dean of undergraduate students and University liaison to the Interclub Council (ICC), noted that “part of [the increase] may be attributable to the fact that we’ve been working really hard as a community … to raise awareness of [medical] resources available.”

The alcohol-related deaths in 2007 of students on the campuses of Rider University and Westminster Choir College might have caused students to become more vigilant about seeking medical assistance for their friends, Flores-Mills added.

In January, Flores-Mills discussed expectations for “new-member selection processes” — commonly referred to as Bicker or sign-ins — in her weekly meeting with the ICC, she said. She plans to address the number of alcohol-related transports that took place last weekend with eating-club presidents, she said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“The conversation after this process is always, ‘How can we make it better? How can we make it safer?’ ” she said, but she added that the spike in transports last weekend is “going to be something that makes [the conversation] this year a little different.”