Two sponsors lost their positions earlier this semester following an alcohol-related incident at the end of the fall semester that resulted in the emergency hospitalization of one of their sponsees. The last time the administration removed sponsors was during the 1997-1998 academic year. Bedoya reports that in his eight years at Pomona, this is the first time sponsors have lost their positions because of an alcohol-related incident.

After evaluating the incident, the Dean on-call staff decided that the two sponsors would be removed from their first-year hall. Assistant Dean of Campus Life Frank Bedoya informed the sponsors of the decision by phone in early January.

The on-call staff was comprised of Dean of Students Ann Quinley, Associate Dean of Students Neil Gerard, Associate Director of the Campus Center Dave Swenson, Director of the Asian American Resource Center Daren Mooko, Dean of Campus Life Matt Taylor, Assistant Dean of Campus Life Frank Bedoya and Acting Director of the Resident Halls Staff Kate Eberle

The December 14 incident that led to the decision involved two first-years who were engaged in a drinking contest inside a Mudd-Blaisdell dorm room. According to Bedoya, one of these individuals consumed 20 shots of vodka within 45 minutes. Resident Advisor Matt Wise ’01, who was contacted at the desk, arrived at the scene to find the victim collapsed on the bathroom floor, unconscious but breathing. "It was intense. It was clear that she needed to go to the hospital," Wise said.

Several other RAs and the Dean on-call, Dave Swenson, responded to the incident. Wise and others at the scene contacted Campus Safety and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Within minutes, paramedics arrived and transported the victim to Pomona Valley Hospital, where she was taken to the Intensive Care Unit for emergency treatment.

The next day, Bedoya, Eberle and Ty Ramsower of Health Education Outreach met with students in the residence hall to provide support for those in shock after the incident.

On Friday, December 17 the Dean on-call staff met to discuss the incident. Head Sponsors Melissa Beaver ’00 and Matthew Sulkin ’01 were informed of the Deans’ final decision that Saturday.

"It was clear that the decision to remove the sponsors had been made before we had the chance to speak to any of the deans," Sulkin said.

Head Sponsor Laura Ephraim ’00 was already home when she first heard about the incident. Over the winter break she communicated with the deans by phone and sent them a detailed e-mail expressing her position.

"The Head Sponsors disagreed with the decision. We don’t believe that it was best for the sponsor program, the students involved, or the school. While we do not agree with the decision, we accept it and are willing to work with the Deans," Ephraim said.

The two sponsors were not contacted until after the decision was made. One of the sponsors involved said, "My main issue with the administration is that we weren’t consulted and we didn’t know that we were being charged with anything. I would hope in the future that the [Assistant Dean] would contact the people involved."

Bedoya, however, supports the administrative decision. "There is a lot of pride in the sponsor program, and our decision was made because the administration felt that two individuals selected and trained by the College responded in a way that led to the near-death of one of the first-year students," Bedoya said.

The two sponsors did not participate in the drinking game and were not intoxicated at the time of the incident. Bedoya adds, however, that "[the sponsors] along with others had prior knowledge that the incident may take place and were in the room when it happened for most or part of the time. It’s an expectation that we have that sponsors will be role models. In the contract they sign we ask them specifically that sponsors set a positive example," he said.

"The College can’t hire people who can let others be in situations where they are putting their lives in jeopardy and not do anything about it," Quinley said.

"In hindsight, there’s always something better we could have done," said one of the former sponsors. "But with the situation as it was, I didn’t feel that as a sponsor I was given the power or authority to do what the administration feels I should have done."

While the Head Sponsors do not see intervention as part of the sponsor’s role, they do believe that the wellness of sponsees should be the sponsor’s first priority. "It they don’t step in, it’s not a matter of policy but an issue of well-being," Ephraim said. "In this case, the sponsors did not exercise the level of leadership that we hoped they would show. We hoped that from training they would have known that 20 shots would be too much to be safe, and that they would do something to try to prevent this."

Sulkin believes that the decision to discipline the two sponsors should have, "…focused more on community education. The sponsors should be required to participate in an outreach program and talk about their experiences. This would be a more appropriate penalty and more constructive in terms of educating the college community about the dangers of alcohol abuse."

Many sponsees in the hall are outraged and believe that the administration’s decision was unfair. "Basically, we’re really pissed off," said Amanda Berhenke ’03, who has written letters to the deans in defense of her former sponsors. "I mean, everyone understood that the sponsors weren’t there to police. The sponsors’ being there actually helped. They knew who to call for help, to call for RA’s."

"Pomona has built up this great support system, and we feel that Pomona has taken away our support system when we need it most," Bernhernke said.

Amber Croyle ’03, who also lives in the hall, added, "I think our sponsor group is most affected because sponsors are supposed to be there for guidance. They’re supposed to be there for support, and we’re missing that right now."

Bedoya says that the two sponsors will not be replaced. He adds, "However, I feel that because the first-years have established a strong relationship with who their sponsors were, the members of the sponsor group will continue to have contact with the two individuals. We are working closely with the other sponsors and RAs in Mudd-Blaisdell to provide a comfortable living environment."

Still, Wise believes that the removal of the sponsors has left a gap in the sponsor group that is irreplaceable. "The first-years have lost two very valuable resources. The other sponsors in Mudd-Blaisdell cannot fill this position. And by the nature of my job as an RA, I can’t replace their sponsors either."