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Printer-Friendly ModeAlcohol policy to be subject of SA meeting
Resolution would create committee to recommend changes to University
February 27, 2006 —
A resolution to recommend the establishment of an Ad-Hoc committee to review the University's policies and procedures regarding alcohol will be on the agenda for tonight's Student Association general House meeting.
The resolution states that some of the policies found in the "Policy Concerning the Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs" could be seen as either unnecessary, overly restrictive, or overly vague.
"There are a lot of little things about [the current policies] that students disagree with," says Speaker of the House Andy Suszek. "Some students don't understand where the policy is coming from."
The resolution in turn cites possible examples that students could disagree with including the various quantity guidelines the University sets forth, the policy stating that empty containers will be included when assessing the amount of alcohol in a room, and some of the sanctions for violation of the alcohol policy.
"We've had a number of complaints this year, as well as in the last couple of years about certain rules," Suszek says. "We kind of took these complaints and thought maybe we should look at the whole situation at one time and get as many people as possible together that have ties to the situation and get them in one room and see if the policy is how it should be."
The resolution further recommends that careful consideration be used to ensure all parties involved have proportionate representation on the committee. This could potentially include representation by both students and staff from various organizations.
Tonight's resolution will take a slightly different shape than the one presented at the Feb. 13 House meeting. Suszek introduced the resolution at that time and asked for feedback and suggestions from other representatives.
"Mainly, people liked the general direction of the resolution," Suszek says.
If the resolution passes, the committee would not have power to change any of the policies. Instead, the committee's design would be to make recommendations if it deemed any necessary. President Eric R. Gilbertson and the Board of Control would have the final say over any changes made.
"I think the main goal of what we're doing is to try to create a policy and try to create rules that everyone understands," Suszek says. "Not necessarily [something] everyone agrees with but that everyone can at least buy into."
Students are invited to attend this evening's meeting at 10 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge. Gilbertson will also be in attendance.
"I would absolutely encourage anybody interested to come to the SA meeting or contact a representative that they know," Suszek says. "We would be happy to hear from anyone."