Brown, Dartmouth change alcohol policies following binge drinking incidents

Dartmouth recently banned hard liquor from its campus, and Brown banned alcoholic events in residential areas.

Liquor with more than 15 percent alcohol will be prohibited from Dartmouth beginning on March 30. In addition to the ban, those that provide alcohol to minors might face more stringent penalties.

The decision follows multiple instances of binge drinking on campus, a problem that Dartmouth president Philip Hanlon has recently highlighted.

Despite the alcohol policy changes at Brown and Dartmouth, some say it will be difficult for other universities to follow.

Kevin Kruger, president of the National Association of Student Affairs Professional, said enforcement is difficult despite the fact that drinking alcohol is illegal for underage students.

“I think you’re going to continue to see smaller efforts to step up enforcement, but not a lot of big statements like this,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.

University spokesperson Martin Mbugua said the University's alcohol policies are periodically revisited and explained that any recommendations to make changes would have to be based on circumstances and facts specific to the University.

“While there are no changes in the works at this time, we continually review our policies and procedures with the safety and well-being or our students as a top priority,” he said.

Mbugua noted the University supports various initiatives intended to promote student well-being, including an alcohol education online course called AlcoholEDU that undergraduates must complete in order to matriculate,a prevention program for students at risk of alcohol abuse calledBrief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students and medical care at University Health Services day and night without disciplinary consequences if intoxicated.

Dartmouth and Brown have different social scenes than Princeton— the two schools have more active Greek life, much of which is officially recognized by those schools.

Students at the University agreed that the repercussions of such an alcohol policy — both at the affected schools and hypothetically at the University — would be difficult to predict.

Katherine Raber ’16, a Wilson College residential college adviser, said the policies would be difficult to enforce and might encourage more surreptitious alcohol consumption. Strict policing, especially within the residential halls, might not facilitate the most cohesive community, she added.

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“Taking away hard liquor or drinks with more than 15 percent alcohol might be the best policy, especially for a campus where the majority of undergraduates are underage,” she said of Dartmouth's and Brown’s changes.

She noted that the University's current policy has been proactive as opposed to regressive, particularly through engaging student awareness.

“Princeton’s been increasing the amount of training that undergrads get in terms of alcohol and the social scene, and because of that, I think Princeton’s doing a pretty good job,” she said.

Amy Addo ’18 said that restrictions should be put in places regarding underage drinking under certain circumstances. She added that while underage drinking is against the law, allowing alcohol as a choice to students of drinking age is important because it allows a certain form of freedom.

“We know that a lot of negative things happen that are associated with drinking, but once a person reaches that age — 21 — they should be allowed to make that choice for themselves, and I don’t think that once they’re legally allowed to do that, that someone else should come in and take that power from them,” she said, referring to Dartmouth's hard liquor ban in particular, which applies to students of legal drinking age.

She added that substance-free dorms and buildings at the University serve as positive areas for those who choose not to drink. Alcohol is difficult to manage and cannot be entirely removed, she said.

“As we’ve seen in the past with Prohibition, which is on a larger scale, we can see that if people want to find a way to do something, they will find a way to,” she said.