The Traveler

Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Lauren Carrigan UA Dean of Students Daniel Pugh speaks to ASG senators Tuesday. Pugh was the guest speaker at this week's meeting, addressing the university's alcohol policy.

The UAs policy regarding alcohol has not been altered, but the way the UA plans to approach the issue is different, said a UA official at Tuesday night's Associated Student Government meeting.

"Not a letter has changed," said Daniel Pugh, associate vice chancellor for student affairs. "What has changed is the comprehensive approach to what we're doing."

Pugh displayed statistics from the annual report on a Powerpoint presentation for ASG members. For the 2003-2004 school year, the number of alcohol-abuse incidents on campus was 163. That number rose to 463 for the 2006-2007 school year.

"Clearly, what we've been doing hasn't been working," Pugh said.

Pugh also showed statistics from August to October of this year and compared them to the numbers from August to October of 2006. The numbers indicate there has been a drop in violations of the alcohol and drug policy, and that the new approach might be yielding positive results, but improvements still need to be made, Pugh said.

Violators of the alcohol and drug policy could be subject to a fine, Pugh said.

"Under the current structure, first-time, low level violations will come with a $100 educational fee," Pugh said.

The fine may be reduced to $50 if the student completes all sanctions, he said.

Money collected from the fees will be generated for bringing speakers "geared toward alcohol and drug education and prevention," Pugh said.

The idea of instituting a fee alarmed ASG Senator Jonathan Powell. He said he was concerned that the fee for violating the policy would come amid an already high cost of education. He was doubtful the students would see the benefits of the fee, he said.

"I'm tired of pushing this cost off to the students," Powell said. "There's no fix here. It's just continuing to nickel and dime the students."

Senator Megan Francis had a different perspective on the matter.

"I don't see it much different than a traffic violation, she said. "You break a rule, there's a consequence."

Continued...

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