Report of Subgroup on
Parents/Employees/Community
Alcohol and Campus Culture
Working Group
Parents
• Interviewed parents of athletes. Most have athlete children at other
schools, as well.
• Key points made by all:
– Seems like an unsolvable problem. Administration cannot “look the other
way” as students drink, nor does harsh enforcement work or seem credible
with students or parents
– Should be a way for Colby to manage student drinking, rather than driving
students off campus and into purview of Wtvl police
– All schools are dealing with the same problems
– Coaches should take a larger role in making rules about drinking and applying
real consequences. Student social lives revolve around teams.
– 18-year-old drinking age would allow Colby to educate students on alcohol
within their rights
Campus Community
(Excluding Students)
• Sent request to General Announcements list seeking comment on
whether alcohol has inflected the Colby experience in negative or
positive ways for employees.
• Received 7 responses: 5 administrators, 2 faculty members
Sample Comments from Campus Community
• From a health center worker: “I have seen several female students
who admit that they were not intending to get drunk but it
somehow happened….It tells me that there must be a lot of peer
pressure to get drunk.”
• From a faculty member who teaches during Jan Plan and has noted,
over the years, that students are less and less interested in working
hard academically during January: “While they don’t go so far as to
say they want to be able to binge more during January, parties are
definitely one of the things they want to be able to do more of
during Jan Plan….I’ve had upperclass students tell me they do their
best not to be on campus in January because, among other things,
there’s too much drinking….One or two Feb First Years have also
said they were shocked by how much drinking went on during their
first month on Colby’s campus, and how sharply it contrasted with
their previous months abroad.”
Sample Comments from Campus Community (cont.)
• From an economics professor: “In my five years of teaching at
Colby I have never had a direct problem with alcohol on
campus. That is, I have never had a drunk or noticeably hung
over student in class. However, I have known superb high
school students who decided not to apply to Colby because of
its drinking culture, which certainly has a second-order effect on
academics.”
• From a counselor: “I feel confident saying that well over half of
students that see me for any reason, over the past 12 years,
have made UNSOLICITED comments on the unpleasant nature
of the excessive drinking culture on campus…. Of course, some
students remark that they don't mind it or do in fact enjoy the
drinking scene here, but the vast majority dislike it enough to
make these unsolicited remarks to me about it.”
Sample Comments from Campus Community (cont.)
•
From an administrator: “In my experience, student alcohol use can be positive…. I
have had the opportunity to observe seniors participating successfully in events
with alcohol available - drinking in moderation and well within social norms…. I
think the key for us at Colby and as parents, aunts, uncles ourselves is to find ways
to educate those of legal drinking age (and those soon-to-be) and share our
expectations about the use of alcohol. Being open about it and presenting those
opportunities are key to the success of these conversations.”
Coaches
• Coaches were asked:
– How do you see the alcohol issue at Colby?
– Does it affect training rules, have an impact on team performance, play a role
in team-building and team unity (positively or negatively)?
• Five coaches responded
Sample Comments from Coaches
• How do you see the alcohol issue at Colby?
– “I think it scary that some drink to the point to hospitalization. In
general, students drinking doesn't make me nervous. I heard of the term
‘blackout parties’ from another coach when I arrived here. And that makes
me afraid.... to hear of a small percentage of students intentionally drinking to
harm themselves.”
– “[The] drinking situation is a hypocritical situation. As a college we have
concern but we do not give clear messages as to our expectations and how we
are going to deal with situation. We act inconsistently. We are either too harsh
or act with blinders on to the situation. ”
Comments from Coaches (cont.)
• "It's a college campus and drinking is going to happen. It is interesting to
me we want our athletes to be positive, to be role models but we are not
quick to point them out and highlight that - but we are very quick to jump
and point out when athletes are doing something wrong-especially group
drinking. I don't think there is a problem - drinking is part of the college
experience. It is about learning between right and wrong. Sometimes you
have to fail and make mistakes in order to figure out how you want to
behave socially. I think the college should provide places for students to
drink, to control it. Instead students drink faster and harder stuff to get to
events with a buzz."
Comments from Coaches (cont.)
•
“I think the issue has steadily gotten worse over the years. Steps used to be a sip
of champagne between classmates to celebrate the end of four hard years. Now,
in an annual game of one-upmanship, each class tries to out do the last. It simply
no longer has anything to do to raising a glass with your classmates to honor all of
the hard work accomplished over four years. Now it is done to parade public
drunkenness.
“Parties used to be a keg of beer for a group of 50. Now that party sizes have been
limited and punishments levied at parties, hard alcohol has become the drink of
choice for many. It is easier to conceal, quicker to get drunk. Drinking games that
were once played with beer are now being played with hard alcohol.”
Comments from Coaches (cont.)
• Does it affect training rules, etc.?
– “I don't think it has an impact on our performance on the athletic field. Part of their
team bonding is surrounded by alcohol which unfortunately is a negative. I do believe
with the current captains players would not be forced to drink. I do believe their has
been pressure in the past for everyone to drink at my team's social events. Even if it
wasn't said , they would feel out of it socially if they didn't drink. They feel as though
they wouldn't fit in to Colby if they didn't drink.”
– Drinking in excess is going to affect performance not competing at level you can
compete. But after game - I don't have a problem (with the team) getting together
socially and having a few drinks - good way to bond in a casual team setting. I do
not agree with excessive drinking. ”
Comments from Coaches (cont.)
•
“We don't have training rules decided by the coaches. The rules of our program are self
imposed by our players. They know how I feel about it (drinking). They decide their own
punishment. They don't drink on Thursday nights or Friday nights. They drink on Saturday
but limit themselves so it doesn't impact our program on Mondays. They take ownership for
their actions and the students at Colby need to take more ownership on drinking responsibly.
Yes, I think in a negative way. I think the social aspect of life revolves around alcohol and in
turns this is team building. But the vehicle is alcohol - this is what I don't like. The end result
is positive but I don't like how it is obtained.”
•
“The players have a 48 hour rule. The captains. who want to be serious in any given year, will
indicate ‘dry points’ throughout the bulk of the season. They have a team goal this year of no
ER visits by any team member. Drinking is part of the Saturday night experience for our
team. There are players that don't drink and we remind the captains each year, that the nondrinking members of our team need to be provided with non-alcoholic beverages and not be
pressured into drinking. I do think the team bonding that takes place revolves around alcohol
and dressing up and dancing.”
Comments from Coaches (cont.)
• One coach responded to the query but not to the specific
questions. His thoughts, in sum:
– Look at differences in schools with Greeks and those without. Better oversight
from dean of students offices at Greek-affiliated schools?
– Would having a “cultural zone” (when all cultural events are scheduled) have
an impact on the campus culture at Colby?
– “Very weird message” is being sent by the College when it bans hard alcohol
from Reunion and other campus events but allows it on campus and sells it in
the Pub.
In the Community
Key points made in interview with City Manager Mike Roy ’74:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Student programs such as Colby Cares About Kids leave more powerful and lasting
impression than the alcohol-related trouble on the Hill, but “champagne steps” and the like
are seen very negatively downtown
Every Monday he and the police chief review incidents, including hospital transports.
Wonder: “What is wrong with that place?”
Very hard, even as a Colby alum, to stay positive about the College with these alcohol-related
problems occurring week after week throughout the school year
“College administrators allow [champagne steps, etc.] and don’t think there will be any
consequences.”
Very doubtful that the current effort will achieve any outcomes. Doubtful that the College is
serious about combating the abuse of alcohol.
The community is interested in helping, however. “Colby’s presence here is huge –
economically, socially, and culturally. That is appreciated by the community.”
In the Community (cont.)
E-mail from Dr. Guy Nuki, chief of operations at the
Thayer emergency room:
•
“I don't think that we perceive the students as wholly ‘bad.’ There is a great deal of
variability between the students. Some of them come down here and are polite, conversant
and intoxicated. Some of them come down here with poor behavior. Typically this is
combative and arrogant outbursts. They are the ones that have ‘impact on the perceptions
of’ Colby students. There are also those that are so intoxicated that we need to medically
intervene. This is why we are here. “
Vandalism/Dorm Damage
•
•
•
•
Visited Physical Plant and spoke with Tammy MacGovern.
Received from her a summary of vandalism/damage reports from the residence
halls from the beginning of this semester through last weekend.
PPD keeps reports in order to calculate dorm damage assessments, which are
passed along to all residents of each damaged dorm unless specific responsibility
can be proved.
Tammy speculated that most damage on campus is alcohol-related, basing her
speculation on the nature of the damage and the fact that most occurs on
weekends.
Vandalism/Dorm Damage Costs
• From August 22 to October 13:
– $2,650 in damage had been assessed
– Majority was for labor, especially housekeeping
– 17 hours of custodians’ time spent cleaning vomit from bathrooms and
common areas
– Other representative damage:
• Exit sign ripped down
• Thermostat torn from wall
• Window broken
• Soap/toothpaste dumped on floors and walls, smeared on mirrors
• Fire extinguisher stolen