Campus Takes a Shot with New Alcohol Policy

By Ashley Langsdorf
News Staff Writer

Yellow fliers proclaiming “The Pomona College Alcohol Policy” covered hallway walls as incoming freshmen were gathered together and lengthily told of the new restrictions and sanctions of Pomona’s new alcohol policy.

“Although Pomona still has a pretty liberal alcohol policy—I mean they buy us beer after all. The new policy is rather constricting to those whose drink of choice is hard alcohol. However, I do understand the reasons behind it,” said Edward Wexler-Beron ’06, a sponsor in Mudd-Blaisdell.

The new policy contains significant changes. Hard alcohol is not allowed on South Campus because “it is assumed that everyone is underage,” explained Matt Taylor, Associate Dean of Students and Dean of Campus Life, while North Campus residents over 21 can possess it with some restrictions.

Pomona will also now allow students of legal age to register private parties after the students complete a server training class. Taylor explained that the rationale behind the decision was that the administration could keep an eye on these parties if they knew they were being held.

The policy also contains a “Good Samaritan” clause. As explained in the handbook, the policy dictates that any student “failing to seek assistance for a fellow student who appears to be dangerously drunk” will face sanctions.

A number of students, however, have expressed surprise at this policy.

“I knew that no students would face consequences for seeking medical help, but I had no idea this rule existed. It was never mentioned during orientation,” stated Micaela Reinstein ’07.

Taylor explained that the logic behind the policy was that Pomona was “trying to combat the perception that “Gee, I’m going to get in trouble, or I’m going to get my drunk friend in trouble [by going for help].”

Although some of the changes in the policy seem novel, most of the concepts have existed in Pomona policy for years. As Taylor explained, “Not much has changed. It’s not an overhaul of the Pomona Alcohol Policy. We focused on a couple things, such as working to decrease hard alcohol consumption and dangerous alcohol consumption.”

Dean of Students Ann Quinley believes the new alcohol policy is having an impact on student drinking. “[After walking through a few dorms,] it seemed to me that people were drinking the occasional beer, but overall they were observing policy,” said Quinley.

Gabe Cisneros ’04, an R.A. in Mudd-Blaisdell, agrees, noting that he hasn’t seen any hard alcohol yet in his hall. He also warns that it’s too early to determine the success of this policy, but he hopes it will work: “A lot of effort and energy went into making this policy. I think it’s a good policy. People might not like it at first, but we should give it our best shot and try to follow it.”

Some students have expressed irritation at the policy, but others don’t seem to take much notice of it. Cisneros explains, “Upperclassmen don’t mind much because they’re not underage, freshmen don’t really know what to expect of alcohol policies, but I think the sophomores are going to have the most trouble adjusting to the new rules.”

Like Cisneros, Taylor did not observe an outcry against the new sanctions: “I haven’t personally had that much negative feedback. These rules were created by a group of students—this is what the student body wanted.”

Besides rewriting policies, administrators are taking other steps to make sure students are acting safely. Dean Quinley said, “There is a great determination to minimize use of hard alcohol among many groups.” She described how deans are now going on ride-a-longs with Resident Advisors (R.A.s) and walking through the residence halls on weekend nights.

In addition to walk-throughs, an alcohol educator has been temporarily hired to teach students the dangers of excessive drinking. Pomona about the consequences of alcohol consumption also plans to have visiting speakers, educational quizzes and informational emails, said Taylor.

Both Taylor and Quinley agreed that more than just the policy has to change at Pomona in order to curb extreme alcohol usage. The administration is working to teach Resident Hall Staff and sponsors appropriate ways to handle underage drinking. “A lot of energy was spent in training, talking with both R.A.s and sponsors and working on strategies to lower hard alcohol drinking,” stated Taylor.

According to Quinley, the role R.A.s and sponsors play in the policy is paramount. “The sponsors are one of the most important groups [in making this policy work]. Sponsors must not be involved with or lead their sponsees to break the policy.”

Taylor also expressed the need for sponsors to help their students follow the policy, adding how disappointed he was to hear that some sponsors encouraged their students to drink hard alcohol.

While sponsors are expected to follow the policy, “many sponsors are still learning about their roles,” explained Cisneros. “We expected that sponsors would not encourage policy-breaking, but the sponsors are still getting used to being role models for the freshmen.” As the year progresses, many sponsors may become more comfortable in their leading positions.

Although the hard alcohol policy has not yet raised substantial protest, a number of upperclassmen have spoken against the restrictions placed on the Grooveline, a social room under the Norton-Clark dormitory. The location used to be available all of the week, but now social events with alcohol are only allowed on Fridays and Saturdays.

Quinley justified the new restriction by explaining that when the committee discussed the new alcohol policy, “there was a notion that academic buildings should be quiet during the week.” She added that there had been a number of noise complaints from students who couldn’t study due to the noise from partying in the Grooveline.

However, some students in those halls thought otherwise. “We live right above it,” said Dane Reinstedt ’04. “The noise from the Grooveline hasn’t been a problem.”

Another student from the hall, Brian Palmer-Rubin ’04, believed the restriction did not result from noise complaint. “It seems to me that it was more of a by-product of the new alcohol policy than anything else. It was another way to limit places where alcohol could be served.”

The main consequence of the new restrictions is the loss of a location for the Junior/Senior Social, an event that usually occurs every Thursday night. Defending the policy change, Cisneros pointed out, “If people are complaining about noise, it’s fair to make new rules about public space. People have a right to a quiet place to study.”

Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the Grooveline, the alcohol policy was reworked in order to decrease hard alcohol consumption and improve student safety. “Our principal concern is student safety,” said Taylor. “That’s the whole reason we changed our policy.”