2008 Woodie Awards
New punishment for violation of alcohol policy unfair to students
The Traveler Editorial Board
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: Opinion
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At last week's Associated Student Government Senate meeting, Danny Pugh, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, announced a possible addition to the UA's new, more-stringent alcohol policy: students might have to pay a fee for a "first-time, low-level" violation of the policy. This brought a few questions to our minds.
During last week's ASG meeting, Pugh said that while data showed a large increase since the 2003-2004 school year in the number of alcohol policy violations, there had also been a decrease in the number of violations between August and October this year. Pugh said the new approach might be yielding positive results, but improvements still need to be made. It's true that an added fee might bolster the progress, but it might not be necessary. Why not give the new policy until the end of the semester before adding to it? If the policy in use is working, it might be better to leave it unchanged.
Also, the proposed fee of $100 would be for first-time low-level violations and would go toward bringing in speakers "geared toward alcohol and drug education prevention," Pugh said. This amount seems a little on the steep side. Why not, for the students' first alcohol-related offence, require them to visit an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting? This method is sometimes used as punishment for individuals who receive alcohol-related traffic violations.
An AA meeting might stick with them a little longer than a motivational speaker telling them things about alcohol and drugs they've been hearing their whole lives. Perhaps repeat-offender students would be more affected by hearing stories from people whose lives were on the verge of destruction as a result of alcohol abuse than the would if they received financial penalties and the typical song and dance of motivational speakers.
Aside from the high cost of the fine, there are a couple of aspects of this system of enforcing the policy that are unfair to UA students.
The new tobacco ban will make the UA campus tobacco-free in July. While Pugh said the new alcohol and drug policy is not an effort to make the UA campus dry, it is, in effect, trying to achieve the same goal as the tobacco ban - to educate people about the dangers of use. Yet, according to an Aug. 22 Traveler article, those who drafted the tobacco ban are leaning against a fine for students who violate the tobacco ban, and instead want to issue warnings and send repeat-offender students to the Judicial Board.
During last week's ASG meeting, Pugh said that while data showed a large increase since the 2003-2004 school year in the number of alcohol policy violations, there had also been a decrease in the number of violations between August and October this year. Pugh said the new approach might be yielding positive results, but improvements still need to be made. It's true that an added fee might bolster the progress, but it might not be necessary. Why not give the new policy until the end of the semester before adding to it? If the policy in use is working, it might be better to leave it unchanged.
Also, the proposed fee of $100 would be for first-time low-level violations and would go toward bringing in speakers "geared toward alcohol and drug education prevention," Pugh said. This amount seems a little on the steep side. Why not, for the students' first alcohol-related offence, require them to visit an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting? This method is sometimes used as punishment for individuals who receive alcohol-related traffic violations.
An AA meeting might stick with them a little longer than a motivational speaker telling them things about alcohol and drugs they've been hearing their whole lives. Perhaps repeat-offender students would be more affected by hearing stories from people whose lives were on the verge of destruction as a result of alcohol abuse than the would if they received financial penalties and the typical song and dance of motivational speakers.
Aside from the high cost of the fine, there are a couple of aspects of this system of enforcing the policy that are unfair to UA students.
The new tobacco ban will make the UA campus tobacco-free in July. While Pugh said the new alcohol and drug policy is not an effort to make the UA campus dry, it is, in effect, trying to achieve the same goal as the tobacco ban - to educate people about the dangers of use. Yet, according to an Aug. 22 Traveler article, those who drafted the tobacco ban are leaning against a fine for students who violate the tobacco ban, and instead want to issue warnings and send repeat-offender students to the Judicial Board.
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