Miami Student

Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Front Page

Former President James Garland maintains that not all Miami University students drink irresponsibly-but he also believes that for some, drinking is a serious problem.

Balcony, an uptown establishment, entertains both under and of age patrons.

High-risk habits develop from college climate

By Stacey Skotzko
Editor in Chief

* Names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

In a town of case races, beer pong and flip cup, when one drink can lead to 10 and when one beer can turn into a pitcher, binge drinking is when social drinking becomes competitive.

It's when things get carried away.

"Is college drinking a problem? Yes," said Leslie Haxby McNeill, acting director of health education at Miami University. "Are we the worst? No."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking "as a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when men consume more than four drinks and women consume more than three drinks in about two hours."

At Miami, both students and health education experts say that binge drinking is a problem-but it is one that permeates the entire climate of the college experience.

"I have a friend at (Ohio State University) who is an Evans Scholar, they give him alcohol all the time," said first-year Dan Brown. "He said the police up there, they don't care at all. They'll see kids drinking who are clearly underage, they just walk right by and when they have riots, it's a big problem. It's not just Miami. We're better off, personally, than a lot of other institutions."

Haxby McNeill said even though most students at Miami drink in low-risk ways, there are still those who do not-and it is those few who put themselves in very dangerous situations.

"Oftentimes students find themselves in high-risk situations when they don't mean to," she said. "… After four deaths in four years (at Miami), you can figure out what's low-risk for me. Some people, for whatever reason, need to figure out how to stay safer."


The "high drama" of a few


Detective Sgt. John Buchholz of the Oxford Police Department (OPD) deals with alcohol-related incidents every day and has for 32 years.

"Is Miami different than anywhere else? No," he said. "(At a) majority of colleges, this is pretty much the norm … It's the culture of college."

Buchholz said OPD gives out "several dozen" alcohol-related citations in a given weekend, majority of which are given to underage students. He said in the time he has been in Oxford, the climate of drinking has changed very little.

Buchholz believes about 10-15 percent of students participate in risky behavior each weekend. And these few students cause problems not only for Oxford, but the university by creating what he says is "high drama."

"Is it as bad as it looks? Majority of college students are not like that," he said. "It's frustrating for the university on one hand because they know it's not as bad as it seems."

He said he understands the need for "cutting loose," but when social drinking turns irresponsible, Buchholz said the OPD and the city of Oxford see the repercussions.

Miami alumnae Marcie Seidel; the program director of the College Initiative, which is under the nonprofit Drug-Free Action Alliance, and aims to curb high-risk drinking; explained that each year nearly 600,000 college students between the ages of 18-24 sustain injuries related to alcohol. Nearly 700,000 are assaulted. Almost 25 percent have schoolwork problems. And about 97,000 are victims or perpetrators of sexual abuse.

"When people choose to be involved (with alcohol) or even associated-we call it the second-hand drinking effect-there are more assaults, more physical violence, more destruction of property," Seidel said. "We hate to say it, but there are students who die ... And you have kids who are not succeeding in their studies because alcohol has gotten in their way."

Seidel explained that it is often the atmosphere of a small town that will promote drinking, such as bar specials and proximity to alcohol.

HAWKS (Health Advocates for Wellness Knowledge and Skills) Peer Health Educators, a group of about 20 Miami students who give presentations on a variety of health topics ranging from tobacco to alcohol abuse, aim to change this climate.

"Just looking at how you walk uptown, there are eight different places to get alcohol within two blocks, you can call 523-BEER, the 14-day club … there are all these things that promote high-risk drinking," said HAWKS educator Stef Sliger.

First-year Matt* said even though he doesn't drink every weekend, most weekends do revolve around where he and his friends-as underage students-can find alcohol.

"The first weekend the frats had their big parties and you have this delusional feeling that there are going to be 100 people on a porch every night," he said. "… I mean, the thing that I've noticed is that among people who do drink, everyone does have that night that they do regret, but so often you do have those nights where you have a blast."

Both the HAWKS educators and Haxby McNeill said that education is the best strategy for curbing high-risk drinking.

"It's not knowing how to drink in moderation and not knowing your limits," said HAWKS educator Sarah Pearcy. "(We understand) legal drinking, responsible drinking … But students will come in and not know their limits."

Haxby McNeill explained some of the prevention techniques used to curb high-risk drinking at Miami, including AlcoholEdu-the program that has received mixed reviews from students. Yet Haxby McNeill explained that AlcoholEdu aims to increase knowledge that, in turn, changes attitudes and hopefully, then changes behaviors. She said 80 percent of students who take the program say it is helpful.

Haxby McNeill explained the culprit for many students' high-risk drinking: the illusion of an alcohol-induced buzz. She said a buzz is like a bell curve, with about a 0.05 BAC at the top. Once people reach the 0.05 BAC, she said, they think they are going to be feeling even better if they drink more. But in

reality, they curve downward, feeling the physical implications and making poor life decisions.

The HAWKS educators, Haxby McNeill, Buchholz and Miami students all gave a plethora of reasons for high-risk drinking: peer pressure, drinking habits from high school, biology, boredom, a stress relief or simply liking the buzz. None could give one solid answer.

But majority brought it back to the perceived culture of college.

"I very much ascribe (to the theory) there's a time for this," said senior Dan Gibbons. "Next year I'm not going to be able to do this, in graduate school, I'm not going to be able to go out and get so shitty that I can't function the next day. For me, yes, we should all be responsible. But my small doses of irresponsibility are allowed (at Miami). That may be true and that may be not true. But for me it all comes down to personal responsibility."



As students mature, patterns of alcohol consumption change

By Erica Flint
News Editor

At age 16 students get their first taste of freedom-their driver's license.

At age 18 students receive affirmation of their freedom-they are labeled legal adults and given the right to vote.

However, some would argue that it is not until students hit age 21-and are given the right to legally consume alcohol-that they actually begin to act like an adult.

Twenty-one can, by all accounts, be considered a rite of passage in the United States.

Oxford Police Department (OPD) Detective Sgt. John Buchholz has witnessed 32 years of activity in Oxford, and he has found that student's drinking patterns seem to change when they hit that magic number 21.

"The last day you are going to be 'wild' is on your 21st birthday," Buchholz said. "Society said 18, you are an adult, but in college the real rite of passage is 21, that's when you start acting like an adult."


Drinking habits change when you turn 21

Miami University senior Lindsay Hamilton believes that her drinking habits have changed since she turned 21.

"I rarely pre-game now," Hamilton said. "After I turned 21 I started to pre-game less and go out earlier."

Hamilton went on to explain that since she became of age she probably goes out on more occasions during the week.

Her observations are backed up by "Environmental Correlates of Underage Alcohol Use and Related Problems of College Students," a study done by Henry Wechsler, Meichun Kuo, Hang Lee and George W. Dowdall, published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2000.

The study shows that of age students tend to drink on more occasions then underage students, but when underage students do drink, they consume more drinks.

"I go out more because I can, I don't necessarily have to drink a lot," Hamilton said.

Leslie Haxby McNeill, acting director of health education at Miami, agreed that some research indicates a change in drinking habits of students as they age.

"What some of the surveys I have seen indicate is that drinking patterns change between freshman and senior year," Haxby McNeill said.

She also highlighted the fact that the difference tends to be that seniors consume less alcohol then freshman.

Miami Senior Dan Gibbons echoes Hamilton's thoughts, by explaining that he no longer has to go out and get drunk, but can just enjoy a beer at a place like Steinkeller.

Hamilton also sees a difference in the way society views drinking among 21 year olds.

"It is socially acceptable to just go have a beer," Hamilton said.

Buchholz has also witnessed a change in the way students tend to drink over their time in college, referring to younger students as "opportunistic," in the sense that they head uptown hoping, but not knowing, if they will find a drink.

"When you do find something to drink (as an under 21 aged student) you are going to make sure you drink as much as you can," Buchholz said, explaining this is in comparison to 21 and over students who can drink at leisure and not worry about
getting caught.

And as far as getting caught-Buchholz explained that about half of the alcohol related offenses they charge people of all ages with is possession, while the other half are public intoxication. Although Buchholz did note that since there are a greater percentage of students who are under, there is a greater opportunity to charge students with possession.

Also, the OPD charges a significantly higher number of underage students with public intoxication in comparison to of age students. Students are going to be wilder in their first two years of college, and then if nothing else, out of necessity, will calm down, according to Buchholz. As students get older they find themselves needing to get a job, their lives get busier and maturity tends to kick in.

Gibbons found a similar trend in his own life.

"Most of my friends drink, probably all of them do, (most have drank since freshman year) … Personally, I was so ridiculous and I got less ridiculous since I got legal, which is interesting," he said. "I was making more risky decisions when I was under drinking, than when I was over."

Buchholz also explained the alarming part of charging underage students with public intoxication is that it has to be something an officer can see.

"(Students) are drawing attention to themselves because of their actions," Buchholz said, elaborating that this meant a student was sick, stumbling or passed out.

Uptown bars that have 18 and over areas of the bar as well as 21 and over sections, such as Brick Street Bar and Grill, see much of what Buchholz explained.

"I think that maybe over 21 patrons don't seem to come to the bars having already been drinking a lot-because they can obviously consume alcohol legally," said Lara Pavloff, general manager of Brick Street.


21: the magic number

As many college age students will lament-the drinking age was not always 21.

The drinking age of 21, however, is not a national law. It was in 1984 that Congress said they would withhold 10 percent of federal highway funds to states that did not prohibit selling alcohol to individuals under 21. After four years all states except Louisiana-who held out until 1995-complied.

Haxby McNeill explained that the drinking age came into affect due to groups such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), who advocated for highway safety.

With the different states and areas having different drinking ages, individuals would drive places to drink or get alcohol, resulting in a high level of drinking and driving. Making the drinking age a uniform 21 did have the result of reducing highway fatalities, according to Haxby McNeill.

However, Haxby McNeill also cited other reasons for having a 21-year-old drinking age.

"What we know now is there is a lot of information about brain development that supports delaying drinking as long as possible," she said. "The longer you delay drinking, the less damage and less you are going to change your brain."

Buchholz has been around Oxford since the drinking age was 18 and does not feel that lowering the drinking age again would make a difference.

"You do not reduce the drinking (when the drinking age is 18), but you do decriminalize an aspect of it," Buchholz said.

Changing the drinking age would not solve the drinking issue, because it is part of the culture of college, according to Buchholz.

"What I saw anecdotally is that it just tends to lower the bar that people want to jump over," Haxby McNeill said, in response to whether or not lowering the drinking age would change the way
students drink.

Haxby McNeill also brought up other countries, such as those in Europe, where the drinking age is lower then 21.

"There are surveys that show if we change the drinking age, the drinking patterns would change," said Haxby McNeill, who went on to explain other studies that look at countries with lower drinking ages are starting to show the opposite.

Studies, which look at other models of drinking, are starting to show that other countries are starting to drink the way we (in America) do, according to Haxby McNeill, who referred to this as the "Americanization of drinking."


Breaking down the social divide

Perhaps one of the most difficult elements of the 21 and over drinking age is the social divide that it creates among students-especially in their junior year as students start to turn 21.

Hamilton felt the affects of the drinking age more than most-she did not turn 21 until late August 2007, and by that time many of her friends had been 21 since around winter break.

"It was hard … going into winter break," Hamilton said. "All of my friends were about to turn 21 and by the end of February I knew I would be the only 20 year old. I didn't want to be left out and I didn't want them to feel like they couldn't go anywhere because I couldn't get in."

Fortunately for students Oxford has bars and establishments that will allow both under and over 21 aged students through their doors.

"Miami does tend to be more unique than other colleges with respect to having more 18 and up bars," said Mark Weisman, co-owner of Brick Street Bar, via e-mail. "However, a large portion of the campus is under 21 and it's our feeling that these students should have access to a variety of entertainment that we offer. Many 'over 21' bars simply offer a jukebox and a place to drink, so there is no need to appeal to the under 21 demographic. We would have to have a major national music act and not allow two-thirds of the student base to attend."

Weisman also noted that his under 21 bars see a mixture of both under and of age students because most students who are over 21 still have friends who are under.

And according to Weisman and Pavloff, both Brick Street; with Skybox, and 45 East, with Tonic; offer a setting that allows for interaction among the ages-while still being able to provide perks to those students who are over 21.

"By having 21 and over bars at both Brick Street (Skybox) and 45 East (Tonic) we can appeal to those students want to go to an 'over' only bar or those 'overs' who like to have their own area but also want the option to take in all of the entertainment in both buildings," Weisman said. "We want to create a 'best of both worlds' scenario."

However, many students find that once they and their friends hit 21, they head to the "over bars" and never look back.

"I find myself rarely going to 18 and over bars," Hamilton said. "When I go out, I go to at least one bar that is 21 and over. It's normally not as crowded and the fact is that I can."

However, until students and their friends turn 21, Oxford will continue to provide students with a chance to spend a night out on the town together.

"Just because you are not 21 it doesn't mean you should not be allowed to go dancing or enjoy entertainment," Pavloff said. "It's not all about the alcohol."

Weisman also sees safety as a reason to provide both under and of age students with a place to go out.

"Ultimately, we want to keep the students on campus and not have them driving on (U.S. Route) 27 at 4 a.m. because there wasn't anything going on in town," Weisman said. "Hopefully, we can give every student, regardless of age, a compelling reason to come uptown and enjoy a variety of entertainment."


No change in sight

The drinking age may not be changing anytime soon, and most believe under-age drinking won't either.

This is in part because drinking-both under and of age-has become such a part of the overall culture of college, not just at Miami, but all over.

Buchholz believes that this culture of drinking in college comes about for several reasons-being on your own, potentially peer pressure, and also students who bring bad habits with them.

"That is a college culture-doing what you want," Buchholz said, adding that if there were no consequences (such as missing class, getting arrested, making poor decisions, etc.) no one would care about drinking.

"The fallacy of (drinking) is that everyone does it," Buchholz said, explaining that students surround themselves with other students who have similar habits, because there is approval with those students.

"I wish there was a way to wrap your arms around the culture and say, it's OK to drink in moderate amounts and it's OK to drink and not get drunk," Haxby McNeill said.

And underage students, for the most part, many of them will continue-for the time being-to engage in risky behavior until they too have learned the lessons their 21 and over counterparts have learned.

"You have to be 21 to understand the culture, and that's probably why it won't change," Buchholz said.



Garland's 41: alcohol task force recommendations remain in progress

By Dave Matthews
Senior Staff Writer

When former Miami University President James Garland was studying physics at Princeton University in the early 1960s, the attitude of administration toward its students was in loco parentis, meaning "in place of a parent." From requiring students to attend chapel to single-sex dorms being the norm, nearly all aspects of student life, he said, were regulated.

Thankfully, at most colleges, many of these rules went out of fashion about the same time as bell-bottoms, but today one major issue still worries the Miami administration as much as it did 40 years ago: irresponsible drinking.

In April of 2005, after an off-campus house fire claimed the lives of three Miami students who had been drinking that evening, Garland decided it was time to change the way Miami's culture views alcohol.

"Let me amplify, drinking is not a problem for the vast majority of Miami students," he said by telephone. "Most of them are very responsible and they don't drink to excess … but there is a small number of the student body that I think for which drinking is a problem."

Garland then assembled a task force, chaired by kinesiology and health professor Jeffrey Potteiger, to come up with ways to curb irresponsible drinking. After five months of meeting, the task force-whose members' backgrounds ranged from psychology (department chair Carl Paternite), to criminology (Miami University Chief of Police John McCandless) to athletics (Men's Ice Hockey Coach Enrico Blasi)-came up with 41 recommendations for Miami to implement in spring 2006.

These 41 recommendations, now known as The Garland Initiative, have created and endorsed many of the significant upcoming issues that are going to change the face of Miami: from the building of a new student union and increasing the number of Friday morning classes, to the sophomore on-campus living requirement.

"My personal opinion was and still is that the recommendations are comprehensive, fair and reasonable," Potteiger said via e-mail. "I remain optimistic that the recommendations will have a significant impact on the use and abuse of alcohol by Miami University students."

Garland retired at the end of the 2005-06 school year, and now David Hodge is the president of Miami University. However, he agrees with Garland's viewpoint on drinking, and says he is also a champion of the Garland Initiative.

"Miami University is not only about academics and the development of the intellect, it's also about the development of character," Hodge said. "I'm not up there saying 'don't drink, don't drink, don't drink' … I'm saying act responsibly … We want responsible adults graduating from Miami University who have challenged themselves about their value systems and all those sorts of things and haven't made stupid decisions that have ruined their lives because of something we could prevent."

When Garland retired, he handed off the implementation of the 41 recommendations to Miami's vice president for student affairs, Richard Nault. Since then nearly every item on the list has either been completed or put into progress. Although Nault said that Miami's drinking climate isn't "any worse or any better" than most colleges, he also said that in the past two years, four students have died from heavily alcohol-related incidents. However, despite all the progress the Garland Initiative has made for Miami, Nault, along with Hodge, Garland, and every other administrator interviewed, agreed that the 41 recommendations can not solve everything-it is up to the students.

"Alcohol abuse on college campuses is an enormously serious problem, and I don't think anyone has found a silver bullet-if they would they would be very rich," Nault said. "There's no one solution to this problem, so it has to be a change in general
societal culture."

Nearly two years after President Garland's Task Force on Alcohol Abuse Prevention presented Garland with their 41 recommendations, here is where Miami stands with implementing the Garland Initiative:

Campus-wide systematic efforts

1.) Proposal: Increase the percentage of undergraduate classes scheduled for early mornings and Fridays to at least 30 percent by fall 2008 for each academic division; and support related Council of Academic Deans (COAD) initiatives to promote stronger academic engagement of students throughout the week.

Status: In progress. At the Provost Breakfast Oct. 17, University Registrar Dave Sauter introduced his new class schedule time grid that will increase the number of morning classes. Although he indicated that 47 percent of Miami's classes already fall at either 8 or 9 a.m. during the week, the new time grid will increase the number of 75-minute classes (such as three-hour classes currently held Tuesdays and Thursdays) to all days of the week, and will create more "flexibility and balance" among the options and times Miami faculty can schedule classes.

2.) Proposal: Increase the operational and continuing education budgets for support of the implementation of the recommendations, programs, training, and staffing identified in the Garland Initiative with administrative oversight provided by the vice president for student affairs.

Status: Completed.

3.) Proposal: Consult and assist student organizations with development of plans for approving or "certifying" local bar and club owners for hosting organizational events.

Status: Completed. Began this fall.

4.) Proposal: Support the plan for the construction of a new student union and encourage that this project be given high priority.

Status: Completed. Architects have been hired to build the union.

Office of Residence Life

5.) Proposal: Enhance the monitoring in the Heritage Commons complex by adding three live-in professional residential staff, with each living in a separate building and having responsibility for two buildings, thus ensuring supervision during non-business hours by fall 2007.

Status: Completed.

6.) Proposal: Prohibit the delivery of alcohol to students living in on-campus residential facilities beginning July 1, 2006.

Status: Completed. In addition to the prohibition of delivery, all first-year residence halls are now completely dry, according to Nault.

7.) Proposal: Upgrade of the resident assistant position to at least junior standing, with increased responsibilities (including bell desk duties) and enhanced compensation by fall 2007.

Status: Partially completed. RAs are now better paid, but they do not have to be of junior standing, according to the Director of the Office of Residence Life Jerry Olson.

8.) Proposal: Establish alcohol and drug recovery housing on campus.

Status: In progress. Karen Murray, director of health education; Maria Carrubba-Whetstine, from student counseling; and James Slager, senior administrative director of health services, have developed a proposal for recovery housing.

Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution

9.) Proposal: Increase the fees for violation of the Student Code of Conduct alcohol policy.

Status: Completed. The current fees are now $150 and a two-hour education program for first offense of prohibited use, $250 or substance abuse assessment for second offense of prohibited use, $200 for four hour education program and $250 for substance abuse assessment for first incidence of intoxication.

10.) Proposal: Include a group intervention as part of the assessment portion of the alcohol

violation sanction.

Status: Completed. A part-time staff member will provide group sessions to those who seem they would benefit from it.

11.) Proposal: Support the extension of Student Code of Conduct violations noted on the transcript to seven years.

Status: Rejected. Violates federal student privacy regulations.


12.) Proposal: Empower the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution to link Student Code of Conduct violations to possible suspension of parking privileges, loss of registration position within an academic class and suspension of opportunity to study abroad.

Status: Completed.

13.) Proposal: Require that transcript notations for non-academic suspensions include the specific violation.

Status: Rejected. Violates federal student
privacy regulations.

14.) Proposal: Implement the following sanctions for the use of false identification violations: first violation, an ethics and integrity education with a $250 fee assessment and for a second violation an automatic suspension from the university.

Status: Completed. According to the Director of the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution Susan Vaughn, the ethics class is a contracted program with a faculty member of the University of Maryland. It would be a class through e-mail correspondence, culminating in the completion of a final exam meant to evaluate how student would treat hypothetical moral dilemmas.

15.) Proposal: Release to student and local newspapers monthly aggregate information on actions of the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution on alcohol related decisions.

Status: In progress. According to Vaughn, the office does routinely send out "general internet reports" to the media, but are trying to develop more effective ways so that they report actual progress, "not just numbers."

Staffing

16.) Proposal: Add at least three additional positions in health services with specialties addressing alcohol education, intervention and treatment.

Status: In progress. Currently looking for resources to fund the positions.

17.) Proposal: Provide financial resources for all staff supporting the alcohol education/intervention efforts (i.e., these should be continuing university positions rather than grant supported positions).

Status: In progress. Also looking for funding.

18.) Proposal: Collaborate with the city of Oxford to create a new position of off-campus housing and community relations.

Status: Completed. This fall a new Office for Off-Campus Student Affairs, headed by Bobbe Burke, university appointee of the city of Oxford's student/community relations committee,
was created.

Training

19.) Proposal: Provide training on alcohol education, intervention and treatment on a regular basis to all relevant stakeholder groups including, but not limited to, the president's executive council, the board of trustees, admission and orientation staff and other faculty and staff.

Status: In progress. A training model has been developed.


20.) Proposal: Improve admissions staff knowledge about the healthy attitudes and behaviors for appropriate use of alcohol at Miami University and request this knowledge be disseminated to high school guidance counselors, potential students and parents.

Status: In progress. James Slager of health services is meeting with admission staff to brainstorm strategies for communications.

21.) Proposal: Provide ongoing alcohol education and training to front line personnel (e.g., MUPD, Office of Residence Life, Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution).

Status: In progress.

22.) Proposal: Require all first- and second-year main campus undergraduates to live in on-campus housing by fall 2007; with exemptions as stated in the recent Division of Student Affairs proposal, titled Enhancement of First- and Second-Year Programs at Miami University.

Status: In progress. All sophomores will live on campus, with a possible fraternity exemption, beginning with the 2009 entering class.

23.) Proposal: Support adoption of the recent Division of Student Affairs proposal for Enhancement of First- and Second-Year Programs at Miami University, which will expand programming for second year students.

Status: In progress. Will accompany item 22.

24.) Proposal: Continue to fund the AlcoholEdu program as a requirement for first-year students.

Status: Completed.

25.) Proposal: Implement a second-year substance abuse education program using most recent local data as a resource.

Status: In progress. Program is being considered by those planning item 23.

26.) Proposal: Require a one-credit hour personal health course for all second-year students by fall 2008.

Status: In progress. See item 25.

27.) Proposal: Provide financial support for the Campus Assistance Program through the pilot phase and beyond, if appropriate.

Status: Completed. Funding has been locked down for the 2007-08 school year.

28.) Proposal: Develop an educational program on ethics and integrity for students who are found to be responsible for violation of Section 02.102 (Dishonesty) of the Code of Student Conduct, which subsumes using or possessing false or altered identification.

Status: Completed. See Item 14.

29.) Proposal: Continue to support and assess AfterDark as an alternative activity with improved programming activities.

Status: Completed.

30.) Proposal: Pilot for a two-year period expanded hours of the Recreational Sports Center-remaining open until at least 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights-with relevant programming to be determined in consultation with students.

Status: In progress. Earlier attempts at this failed, new models are being drafted by students and staff.

31.) Proposal: Encourage the formation of an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) chapter on campus.

Status: Completed. AA meets every Friday night beginning this fall, according to Nault.

32.) Proposal: Provide comprehensive on-campus alcohol and drug assessment including the BASICS assessment and drug testing.

Status: Completed, pending IT assessment.

33.) Proposal: Undertake ongoing quality assessment and improvement and outcome evaluation for all recommendations.

Status: Completed.

34.) Proposal: Develop a strategy for ongoing assessment by the Center for Health Enhancement, in consultation with additional experts as appropriate.

Status: Completed.

35.) Proposal: Provide appropriate resources for assessment needs.

Status: In progress. Now that the assessment plan is in place, a budget is being composed by the Office for Student Affairs.

36.) Proposal: Require the vice president for student affairs to provide an annual report of quality assessment and improvement and outcome evaluation findings to the president.

Status: Completed.

37.) Proposal: Send a consistent message to the Miami University community by prohibiting the marketing, sale, or consumption of alcohol at all student-centered events (e.g., all athletic events, all concerts, etc.)

Status: In progress. Revision of ban of alcohol at university events is being considered.

38.) Proposal: Develop strategies for increasing adult role model interactions and mentoring for first-year students.

Status: In progress. The Office of Student Affairs is currently seeking donor support for a better program.


39.) Proposal: Encourage and support development by the Office of Finance and Business Services of a plan for the university to systematically "buy back" or purchase residential housing in the Mile Square with enhanced incentives for residential ownership.

Status: Rejected. Does not fit into budget.

40.) Proposal: Create a holding facility with professional care for students dangerously intoxicated.

Status: In progress. Adolph Haislar, senior associate vice president for finance and business services, and the MUPD and local officials, are developing the building.

41.) Proposal: Encourage the city of Oxford to establish a Municipal Court.

Status: In progress. Discussions are beginning between the city of Oxford and several members of the Oxford community, but no plan has been developed.


Students remain ignorant of legal ramifications, costs

By Caroline Briggs
Senior Staff Writer

Thanks to the Police Briefs twice a week, Miami University students read all about the saturated partiers crawling Oxford on the weekends.

What isn't usually reported are the court costs and legal implications that accumulate after students get arrested with a Natty Light in their pocket or are found passed out uptown by
an officer.

Local attorney Dennis Deters sees many of Butler County Area 1 Court's cases that relate to alcohol, and he said about two-thirds of his cases are Miami students.

"Regulation of alcohol and alcohol abuse is a lot more stringent here in Oxford than under Ohio law," Deters said. "There are just bigger problems in other places, and police are less inclined to write criminal citations (for breaking alcohol laws)."

Of his Miami student clients, Deters said about three-fourths of those are alcohol-related violations.

Attorney Wayne Staton also says that majority of his clients are Miami students who have broken either an alcohol or drug law. Staton graduated from Miami in 1970 and received his MBA from the school in 1976, the same year he began teaching law classes here as well.

"The difference at Miami now from when I was here as a student is from two things," Staton said. "First, the police force has grown a lot and second, they are issuing a lot more tickets
than before."

Michael Baker is the prosecutor for both Area I and II Courts in Butler County and says that almost all of the cases he deals with here in Oxford have to do with substance abuse in some form. Baker said that his work with Area I over the last three years has yielded consistent amounts of alcohol-related cases, a vast majority.

Baker said that Judge Robert Lyons "treats everyone as they should be treated," in court, as some defendants enter without realizing what consequences a night of partying can mean legally.

Staton and Deters also agreed that Judge Robert Lyons is a reasonable authority when Miami students enter the court for an alcohol violation.

"What (students) don't realize is that their criminal record is at stake," Deters said. "Miami students are some of the youngest and brightest people out there today and there is a lot on the line when they plead guilty."

Both Staton and Deters said that there is no fixed rate for legal representation, but that lawyers rate defendants after they look at the police report and take the case. Staton said that legal representation for an underage possession would cost at least $500, $750 for a fake ID, and at least $1,500 for a DUI case. Expungement can cost anywhere from $300-500. He said the authorities have the right to place someone in jail for six months and fine $1,000 just for holding an open beer underage.

Staton also said that many students enter court without a lawyer to plea a diversion sentence. The citation remains on the student's record for one year before he or she may apply for expungement of the case. Many students don't get a lawyer because of the cost, but after the cost of expungement, someone who receives an alcohol violation is paying about the same as the person who paid for the lawyer and received diversion, Staton said.

Violations of possessing a fake ID are not expugnable and the term "certain acts prohibited" remains on a person's record forever, Deter said.

Baker said that court costs are always $80 at Area 1. When first-time offenders opt for the diversion program, they must make a donation to a local law enforcement trust fund, $100 for underage possession and $750 for possession of a fake ID. Defendants on diversion for underage possession and consumption must also complete 30 hours of community service.

Besides Area 1 Court, students who are cited for alcohol whether on campus or off are also subject to Miami University's code of student conduct. Staton said it's this factor that really affects a student's future after a drinking incident.


University's role

Though determined on a case-by-case basis, Miami has a two and three strike rule when it comes to alcohol violations. Too many violations in an academic year could mean academic suspension from the university. Once a student is forced to leave, Staton said, it's less likely that he or she will return to study at Miami again.

"Miami, in my opinion, has the wrong philosophy," Staton said. "I think if a person is admitted to the school, (Miami) need(s) to take measures to help these kids after they make mistakes."

Susan Vaughn is the director of the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution at Miami, and she says that little has changed since she came to Miami 22 years ago in student conduct policy. Besides the change in policy to adjust the drinking age to 21 in the 1970s, Vaughn says the change in Code 2 policy last year for alcohol abuse related more to residence hall violations than student behavior. Now, any alcohol violation on or off-campus results in a Code 1 violation. Miami's Code of Student Conduct states that a student can be suspended after one violation of Code 1 policies, though Vaughn said that is an extreme circumstance.

"I look at (Miami's) policy for citing underage alcohol (consumption) as more of an intervention process," Vaughn said. "The policy here is educationally based."




Status of ASG alcohol task force

Since Associated Student Government (ASG) created a student-led alcohol task force in March, the group of about seven student leaders has been working toward improving the non-drinking options available to Miami University students.

"I think one of the major issues with what we have (at Miami), there are people who don't want to drink or who are forced into it-or become a social recluse," said Brendan Buholzer, an ASG co-author of the original legislation to create the task force. "They can't meet the people who don't want to party … and opposed to trying to change everybody, we want to provide the support to those who don't want to make that decision (to drink)."

The task force was created in response to a variety of alcohol-related incidents at Miami and the administration's responses-including the formation of the Garland Initiative: The President's Task Force on Alcohol Abuse and Prevention in March 2005.

"We recognize that there is a drinking problem," Buholzer said. "We wanted to get student leaders, to start a dialogue. We pulled people from IFC (Interfraternity Council), Panhel (Panhellenic Association), peer HAWKS, student athletes-different areas to serve on this committee and generally talk about alcohol."

At this point, Buholzer and ASG's secretary of off-campus affairs, Jen House-who is also a co-author of the bill-said the task force has been brainstorming alternatives for students who want to avoid the bar and drinking scene.

Buholzer and House spoke about wanting to convert the previous Wal-Mart building, which is now standing vacant, into some sort of a community center. They also mentioned keeping the Recreational Sports Center (RSC) open later-also one of the recommendations in the Garland Initiative-as it currently closes at 11 p.m., or creating a mini-golf area at the RSC that would only be open during evening hours.

"At Miami it seems like there is nothing else for you to do, especially on the weekends," House said. "Students start to drink earlier because they have nothing better to do. (The Oxford Police Department) says students always start drinking at house parties and then they go uptown and continue to drink. It's a combination of both places that puts students over the edge. Do you really need to start drinking at 9 p.m. at night if you are going to be out until last call?"

House and Buholzer said the task force-which meets twice a month-hopes to make a list of recommendations of actions that could be taken to improve the number of non-alcohol related activities at Miami "sometime in the spring."

They said the task force then would look at developing a more extensive report on the culture of drinking at Miami.

"I think the culture at Miami, being the way it is set up … Miami mirrors most schools that are like it nationally," House said. "Academically we may be better, that's why people see drinking at Miami as a larger problem … It's more of a national thing, but it would be great if some kind of change could start here on our campus."

- Reporting by Stacey Skotzko

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