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Alcohol Policy
Revised
everal revisions to Duke’s Alcohol Policy have taken effect with
the start of the school year, including an amendment that states the
university may notify the parents of students under the age of twenty-one
when their student’s health or safety has been at risk.
At the end of August, Larry Moneta, the new vice president
for student affairs, sent a letter to the leaders of about 150 student
organizations on campus, reminding them that the revisions had been
enacted and enlisting their support in educating the university community.
In his letter, Moneta says it was clear that students
“want a campus that is safe, responsible, and enjoyable, and
free of the strewn trash, excessive noise, broken glass, and vomit
in restrooms that have resulted from parties in the past.” Moneta
also stressed that Student Affairs would continue to concentrate on
reducing the frequency of dangerous drinking that sent fifty-seven
students to Duke Hospital’s emergency room last year. Many of
those students had toxic levels of alcohol in their bloodstream, the
letter says.
The purpose underlying the notification is not to “tell
on” students to their parents, but instead to involve parents
in assisting their children, says Kacie Wallace ’89, associate
dean for judicial affairs. “Parental notification is not a sanction.
We’re involving parents in their students’ lives and asking
for their support.”
For years, the alcohol policy has contained a section
mandating that letters be sent to the parents of first-year students
who commit a second policy violation. Beginning this fall, parental
notification could be applicable to any student under twenty-one.
Parental notification will be neither automatic nor routine,
Wallace says. While Student Affairs deans have more discretion under
the policy revisions when it comes to notifying parents, the criteria
for notification essentially will remain the same. Parents may be
notified following extreme cases of intoxication, particularly overdoses,
when repeat offenses occur, and when it is evident that consumption
is adversely affecting schoolwork, she says. In most instances, students
will be encouraged to notify their parents themselves. In other, more
acute cases, Student Affairs deans will contact parents.
Another important change in the revised policy is the
increased clarity provided to residential-life staff (resident advisers
and area coordinators), who in the past have struggled to understand
whether they were expected to be primarily peer mentors or enforcers
of policy.
Wallace says the residential-life staff is asked to intervene
whenever students are intoxicated, with the primary goal being to
ensure their health and safety. Starting this year, resident advisers
and area coordinators are being asked specifically to “observe,
comment, and document” alcohol-related incidents to the best
of their ability.
In training this August, it was made clear that the residential-life
staff will simply submit their observations to Student Affairs deans,
who determine what response is warranted. Compared with the previous
policy, the distinctions may appear subtle, Wallace says, but Student
Affairs administrators are confident the shift in emphasis will help
the residential-life staff members better understand their role and
responsibilities.
Another change in Student Affairs’ approach this
year involves the inclusion of a substance-abuse specialist in decisions
concerning alcohol policy violations. Jeff Kulley, coordinator of
alcohol and substance-abuse services, was hired last spring by Counseling
and Psychological Services. Working with Student Affairs deans, he
will help determine whether students involved in incidents should
receive assessment, treatment, substance-abuse education, judicial
sanctioning, community restitution requirements, or some combination
of these consequences.
The policy revisions stem from recommendations by the
Alcohol Policy Review Committee, charged last fall by Jim Clack, interim
vice president for student affairs, to re-examine the university’s
alcohol policy in light of changes that have occurred in recent years
regarding campus culture and federal law. The revisions have been
endorsed by Moneta, who was named vice president for student affairs
this past summer.
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