The 2007 fall semester at Miami University led to slight increase in student violations of underage intoxication and a nearly 50 percent increase in reported drug offenses.
The most popular drug involved with these offenses was marijuana.
But Susan Vaughn, director of ethics and student conflict resolution, believes that the varying amounts of violations are too trivial to be of major concern.
"These (new numbers) vary (from old numbers) by 20-it's very minor," she said. "It's fairly insignificant. But people always want to know if it's going up or down. It really tends to balance out."
The Miami University Police Department (MUPD) recorded about 200 alcohol related violations last semester. Vaughn states that her office reported about 100 drug related offenses in the 2007 fall semester. Last year there was somewhere around 50.
The MUPD's numbers and the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution's numbers do not always correlate exactly with such reports-as the ethics office receives referrals from Miami staff, such as resident assistants and Oxford police, in addition to MUPD reports.
From MUPD's standpoint, they also believe that the numbers have stayed relatively stable throughout the years, with intermittent spikes.
"I would say that our (alcohol violation) numbers are probably running in line with how they've been since 2004," said John McCandless, chief of MUPD. "The rest of the totals are basically similar."
McCandless did state that the number of drug offenses has increased.
"I sense marijuana numbers are up slightly," he said. "But I don't believe there have been dramatic spikes anywhere."
Other violations experienced slight increases, including disorderly conduct, assault and vandalism. These are offenses that often involve the abuse of alcohol, according to the ethics office.
Instances involving false identifications for purchase of alcohol, however, experienced a drastic decrease, with almost one third less violations during fall 2007 in contrast to fall 2006.
This past fall, the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution implemented a new policy dealing with fake ID violations. For a first time offense, students are fined $200 and required to attend an ethics class taught by Gary Pavela, visiting from the University of Maryland and an "authority on academic ethics," according to his Web site. Vaughn, however, does not believe that this new policy caused the decrease in violations.
"I think it would be too early," she said. "We just got the new policy. Maybe some years police really crack down on (fake IDs)."
As of now, the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution could not pinpoint a reason for the decrease. They are partnering with other departments and organizations to understand the fluctuating numbers of violations.
"We're working with hospitals and policy agencies," Vaughn said. "We need to know if there's a reason for the increases. Maybe (the police) are just making more arrests. This way we'll know if it's a trend or if Miami is just cracking down."
Vaughn states that her department does not fully believe that these numbers reflect a large change in student behavior. She believes that there are too many factors that could affect the amount of arrests or write ups, such as a new bar opening, policy department's focus or even the weather.
Vaughn did note that ethics office has been working to fight what they see as an underage drinking problem at Miami University.
"Regardless of what we are doing, alcohol is still a huge problem," Vaughn said.
Vaughn and her department will continue to research the trends and help students who have violated Miami's bylaws.
"Our students are not criminals," Vaughn said. "It's generally when they are under the influence of alcohol that they make really bad choices."
