Stricter drinking regulations and punishments for Georgetown University students, announced by Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Todd Olsen in an Aug. 27 welcome letter to the student body, evoke comparisons to the newly tightened policies at AU.
The letter outlined new rules, which include a 10 a.m. Thursday registration deadline for weekend parties, a ban on drinking paraphernalia such as pong tables, a one-keg per party maximum and a limit on the number of people allowed at parties. Alcohol is permitted on Georgetown's campus if the newly tightened policies are followed.
In the letter, the administration also defined a party as any gathering with 12 or more people where alcohol is present. Any parties held in university-owned apartments and townhouses need to be registered through the university's party registration Web site.
About 125 students protested these changes Sept. 20 at a rally on Healy Circle, a popular historical meeting spot on Georgetown's campus. Almost 2,000 students signed a petition protesting the new regulations, according to Matt Stoller, one of the organizers of the rally.
The administration has lowered the amount of required party hosts over 21 from two to one in response to the overwhelming student feedback. Anyone wishing to host a party must be 21 years old and, as outlined on Georgetown's Web site, attend host-training seminars.
However, Stoller, a senior at Georgetown, says that no other rules have been altered to the students' wishes.
"We're currently working with Dr. Olsen, the administration and the student government to look at the entire policy, discuss changes and hopefully Dr. Olsen will adopt a new plan," he said.
In response to Georgetown's new policy, Joshua Linder, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said the regulations at Georgetown were enacted by authority figures without acknowledging the students' interests.
"It's na've and probably self-righteous," he said.
The new policies will be impossible to enforce, said Corey Lim, a freshman in the Kogod School of Business.
"How are they going to enforce these new policies?" he said. "Are they going to go to every party every night?"
The crackdown on drinking at Georgetown is similar to AU's new policies regarding alcohol transports and off-campus citations for drinking. In effect this semester, any second medical transport for alcohol consumption is a violation of the Student Conduct Code, which means there is the possibility of judicial action. This policy is an attempt to cut down on the number of transports after last year's high of 37, The Eagle previously reported.
The new policy is having the reverse effect and endangers students, many students said.
"I think that's an awful idea," said Brett Seifried, a sophomore in the School of International Service. "I feel like someone's going to die because they're going to need a transport but not get it because they're afraid."
The new policy may be dangerous for students' health, said School of Public Affairs sophomore Kat Klausing.
"It is just going to lead to more kids getting really sick and not getting the medical care they need," she said.
AU administrators sent a letter to students reminding them they can be punished on campus for violations of state, local and federal law off campus. The tightened enforcement went into effect Aug. 31, The Eagle previously reported.
This re-enforced policy was adopted after police broke up four parties and cited 26 AU students at one party alone, The Eagle previously reported.
