Dartblog

Fourth in a series; read the first here, the second here, and the third here.

Changing Safety & Security’s posture towards underage drinking will take only one meeting between President Kim, Dean of the College Sylvia Spears, and the Director of Safety & Security Harry Kinne — ooops, Interim Head of Safety & Security Keiselim Montas. If the College adopts a tolerant policy like Yale’s, the 35 FTE members of S&S won’t have any trouble following it.

(Note to the budget cutters: do we really need that many S&S employees?)

As for the Town of Hanover’s zealous law enforcement community, it is time that the weight of the College’s influence be brought to bear with the Town Selectboard. The Hanover Police also has approximately 35 FTE members, and it strikes this local observer that they might not have enough to do. Perhaps the Hanover Police could pay a little less attention to Dartmouth students and focus more of their enforcement efforts on the many local drivers who seem to drive over the speed limit in 25mph zones — particularly in front of the Richmond School (you know who you are).

As for the ambulance issue, I don’t see why our S&S officers cannot bundle intoxicated students into their own vehicles and bring them to DHMC. After all, S&S routinely transports students from locations on campus via the public streets to Dick’s House. This effort seems like the minimum that the College can do to avoid burdening its students with arrest records that can impact their educational future.

In the past the College has hidden behind phrases like “liability issues” and “insurance concerns” in answer to this suggestion, but I am not persuaded. I have yet to see an insurance policy that spells out a restriction like “thou may not transport an intoxicated student directly to a medical facility for treatment.”

More than likely, the College’s legal counsel is taking an excessively prudent position on this matter out of fear of the possibility of suit. Of course, these are the same lawyers who instruct the Facilities folks to cut down every decent rope swing on the river, and make hundreds of other little decisions based on the same misguided fear.

On February 20, 2006, Yale released its Report of the Committee on Alcohol Policy in Yale College. It stated:

The Committee also concluded that College regulations that focus on student safety as the first priority (e.g., students are not punished when they drink so excessively that they are transported to UHS or a hospital emergency room) are praiseworthy and effective…

Given that the Yale Police can muster the legal justification to transport Yale students to their University Hospital, there is no valid reason that Dartmouth’s S&S cannot do so, too. If College Counsel General Bob Donin can’t come to the right conclusion on this issue, perhaps we need a better General Counsel.

The College’s punitive and ineffective policy on alcohol has gone on for far too long. It has not curbed drinking and it has claimed too many victims. President Kim, take charge now and change this policy.