Sub-Free Opening Still Raises Questions

By Caitlin Collins
Staff Writer

In response to concerns about sexual abuse during the first weeks of college and to provide new students with an opportunity to experience their first days of college without alcohol or drugs, Pomona College has continued its own steps to decrease alcohol abuse with its annual substance free opening.

During this time, no Pomona student was allowed to serve or consume alcohol on campus, and first years were required to attend a seminar and discussion on the dangers related to over consumption of alcohol.

“I think substance free opening is a very good idea,” said sponsor Jason Ganns ’06. “It raises awareness regarding issues of alcohol poisoning and sexual assault that definitely do need to be entertained.”

This year, Pomona’s “dry campus” policy extended to Monday, September 8, the beginning of the second week of classes, in an effort to gradually accustom first years to the college environment.

“I think college is a lot more raucous; you’re a lot less protected than you are when you are living in your parents’ house,” said Dean of Students Ann Quinley. “Substance free opening allows our first year class to come here and to socialize and to get to know people without a lot of alcohol around on campus.”

Substance free opening was also instituted to address safety concerns.
“There are statistics that show that a high percentage of people who suffer sexual misconduct have this happen right at the beginning of school. So I think that there are a group of people who think that if we have less alcohol on campus, we will have less problems with sexual misconduct,” said Quinley.

“Studies have shown that a high percentage of sexual assaults that occur on campus occur within the first few weeks, and a lot of it is alcohol related,” said resident advisor John Clithero ’05.

Many students expressed support for the reasoning behind substance-free opening, but the question of whether or not substance-free was adhered to this year is much less clear.

“According to the letter of the law, substance free opening was not necessarily followed,” said Ganns, “but I think that even when there were indiscretions, most people did follow the general feeling behind substance free opening, namely to promote safe alcohol consumption on campus."

Furthermore, some students expressed a desire for two main changes in the policy: substance free opening should only be for south campus, and it should end on the weekend rather than a Monday, as other Claremont colleges do, had substance free openings that ended on the weekend.

“I think it would be good to have all the colleges end on the same day, but ending on a Monday is bad because it encourages people to drink on a weeknight,” said Andrew Cooledge ’07.

“We tried ending it on Saturday, but when we end it on Saturday, it is just a nightmare,” said Quinley. “If we end it on Monday dry week is going to end in a more gradual, wind-down kind of way, and that just seems to work better for our campus. I can’t control what the other campuses do.”

Containing substance free opening solely to South Campus is also not likely for the future.

“I don’t think that it would really work to limit it, but I think that would make it a little easier because they don’t really enforce it on north campus anyway,” said Danny Shickich ’05.

“If we only had south campus substance free then all of south campus would be traveling north, and I think we really would have problems with sexual misconduct,” said Quinley.

As a whole, the Pomona administration deemed this year’s substance free opening a success, and Pomona will continue the tradition in the future.
“I think that towards the end that it may have been bent a little bit, but as a whole it made the drinking community at Pomona safer,” said Tiana Leeds ’07.