Author: Chloe Woodruff
The Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) invited students to discuss the indefinite suspension of school dances and alternative solutions with faculty members on Thursday, Nov. 21. Director of Student Life Tamara Rice, Director of Residential Education and Housing Chad Myers, Chief of Campus Safety Sean Kennedy and Associate Dean of Students Tim Chang were all in attendance to answer questions and hear concerns from the student body.
“The ASOC Senators have heard a lot of questions from students about what exactly the new policy means and why the school has decided to make this change. ASOC would like to give you the opportunity to share your opinions about the new policy directly with the administrators who are implementing it,” ASOC said in a Nov. 20 email announcement.
According to Rice, the school-wide ban on dances, which was instituted after six students were transported to the hospital for alcohol poisoning at this year’s Toga, was adopted as a means to reduce the number of transports and encourage a campus discussion on alcohol use.
“The decision was that if the dance was the stimulus for students to engage in dangerous behavior, then we have to take away the stimulus,” Rice said.
Throughout the discussion, she encouraged students to suggest alternative solutions and even expressed interest in a student committee dedicated to resolving the issue. She also welcomed student input regarding alternative events.
As far as the reimplementation of dances, Rice and Chang agreed that students needed to demonstrate an ability to drink responsibly.
“I really want to see the school demonstrate that they can have things with without having transports,” Rice said, citing the relatively few transports to occur at concerts and football games.
Though she gave no indication of when the ban would be lifted, Rice did say that small dances and club-related events were most likely to be considered first.
Diplomacy and World Affairs (DWA) major Enoch Sowah (junior) suggested sanctions be aimed specifically at students who had been transported, rather than toward the entire student body.
“It [the school-wide ban is] a quick fix to a much deeper structural problem,” Sowah said.
Rice explained the logistical difficulty with a disciplinary approach and added that although transported individuals were required to meet with the Dean of Students to discuss their violation, the current policy focuses on prevention and student safety.
“We take a wellness approach than a disciplinary approach… because we want to make sure there isn’t an underlying issue,” Rice said.
Students also suggested that the school take a more in-depth approach to alcohol education. Chang described the various forms of education that the college provides for new and returning students.
“We’ve had all kinds of programming on to educate students about alcohol use. That being said, the number of students being transported is still pretty high… and that’s why the college has decided that the hiatus is the right thing to do,” Chang said.
Rice commented that, though the decision was a hard one to make, she believed it was an important step in changing the culture around alcohol on campus.
“Sometimes you have to do something that stings to open up the conversation… I felt like i just couldn’t ignore it anymore,” Rice said.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
