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Printer-Friendly ModeAd hoc committee to review University alcohol policies
November 6, 2006 —
During the Winter 2006 semester, the SVSU Student Association unanimously voted on a resolution that would recommend the establishment of an ad hoc committee to review SVSU's alcohol policies and procedures. Last spring, their recommendation became a reality.
The current SVSU Alcohol Policy is stated in the 2005-06 Student Handbook on pages 19-22. Residents of the First Year Suites and Living Center North live under a zero- tolerance policy.
Residents of second-year communities (Living Center South and University Village East) may be eligible to obtain an alcohol permit if they are over the age of 21.
Residents of Pine Grove Apartments and University Village West are allowed to have alcohol in their apartments as long as one or more of the residents are over 21. The handbook does state a limit on how much alcohol is permitted in the apartment, and community sources of alcohol, such as kegs, are banned on University premises regardless. In addition, the possession of alcohol containers by unauthorized individuals is also a violation.
The punishment for alcohol violations is stated on pages 21 and 22 of the student handbook.
Currently, there is an ad hoc committee reviewing the campus alcohol policy. According to Jill Gushow, the committee's chairperson and Director of Staff Relations, the committee is made up of 13 members. These members are students and staff with "wider perspectives" from around campus.
When asked what parts of the policy the committee would be looking at, Gushow replied, "the quantities of alcohol, the type of disciplinary actions taken for alcohol violations, and the RA's role in accomplishing the objective of the alcohol policy."
As of now, the committee has been collecting data to help with their decisions. The data includes crime statistics, what other schools are doing, and the residential numbers at SVSU.
"We wanted to make sure everyone on the committee had the same data in front of them before we actually started bringing out everyone's opinion and what we want to change," said Gushow.
The committee will discuss their opinions and anticipate that they will have a recommendation regarding the alcohol policy sometime in winter term.