Students resist drinking policy

West Chester University is commonly referred to as a dry campus. However, many students continue to violate the university's code of con-duct, specifically, through the consumption of alcohol. West Chester has zero tolerance for drinking in the residence halls, whether the student is over or less than 21 years of age. A student at the university admits that she is under 21 and believes that it is easier to avoid getting cited off campus, opposed to on campus. Therefore, an increasing number of students attempt to drink in the residence halls with the perception that the chances of being cited have decreased. She adds that students fear even less being caught on campus drinking because they are under the impression that they will not receive a record, rather just a form of community service. Judd Strauss, a third year Resident Assistant (RA), asserts that he has caught individuals "drinking illegally" in the halls However, Strauss states that in most cases, "The individuals were cooperative."He expressed that in most cases he has caught individuals on his daily rounds, and loud noises and smells would give off a hint of suspicion. When he would go to the doors they would be unlocked, and with permission to enter he would then find groups of students drinking alcohol.

He added that surprisingly "they would fess up, and realize that they have violated a student code of conduct." Despite this realization, there are concrete rules that are designed to be enforced with situations such as these.

Kevin Hansbury, a resident director, suggests that the judicial system on campus may appear to be less punitive, "because it is designed to be more educational," and the university would rather see the students' growth. While this number of student maturity is hoped to increase, the number of citations for underage drinking remains at a steady increase.

A student further adds that most students attempt drinking on campus more readily, because they are "positive that they will not get a record, or citations." On the other hand, statistics show that students continue to blind themselves to the possibility of being caught.

Citations issued by West Chester University Public Safety and West Chester bor-ough police shows that the 2001-2002 fall and spring semesters totaled 194 citations; in 2002-2003 there were 232 citations; and in 2003-2004, 73 citations. In comparison, citations were elicited to West Chester University students by the department of Public Safety; it shows that for 2002-2003 spring and fall semester there was a total of 185 citations, and for 2003-2004 a total of 155 citations.

Shannon Gaffney, a former resident assistant, stated that RAs are advised to call public safety based on their observation of the situation, including the level of drunkenness, the number of people involved, and the individuals' cooperativeness. Gaffney states that she has caught a total of "six underage drinking incidents, and only needed to call public safety twice." So why do students continue to believe that drinking in the residents halls is a safe zone?

Mike Bickings of Public Safety stated that RA's are informed to "call public safety with every incident of drinking on campus," rather than just based on the personal observation of behavior. He continued, "The individual will still be cited even if they are 21, and/or cooperative" because it is not tolerated.

When an incident is reported Public Safety follows a procedure to determine the situation and the amount of alcohol involved. First, Public Safety will speak with the students involved, then they will the administer a portable breath test (PBT) to measure the blood alcohol content, which confirms if the student has been drinking, and if so an estimation of the amount consumed.

Bickings dispeled the misconception that penalties on campus are easier or less offensive than off campus. He stated that, "after following the previous procedure the individual is arrested, or can just get a citation and judicial." He confirmed that the penalties on campus for underage drinking are the same as those off campus, or distributed by the borough police.

The only variation is "that if a student, due to circumstances, went through the judicial system it would be an academic record, in comparison to a criminal record." Whether a person is cited off or on campus, Bickings concluded that it still goes on the record the exact same way. As the number of underage drinking incidents increases for the 2003-2004 semesters, so do the citations by the Department of Public Safety, eliciting more citations than the borough police to West Chester students for the present semesters.