The University will adjust its alcohol policy by the end of this summer, heeding student calls to differentiate between graduate students and undergraduates in rules for events.
Less stringent guidelines will be laid out for graduate groups regarding Responsible Alcohol Management training for student-organized events, the ratio of sober monitors and event registration requirements for gatherings of students, faculty or staff. The reworked policy will reflect conversations between administrators and graduate student groups, capping off nearly a year of lobbying by GW Law School students for more flexible standards.
“I think it’s a great idea to make some differences between undergrads and grads,” Assistant Dean of Students Tara Pereira said.
The Student Bar Association, the law school’s largest student organization, submitted a proposal for graduate-level changes to the University’s broad-based alcohol policy to Pereira last week. Their draft includes giving the law school more oversight of their events and tailoring RAM training to the needs of law students, such as allowing them to instruct their peers.
While the group’s proposal is specifically targeted toward law students, administrators said they are looking to make similar adjustments for all graduate students.
The proposal also suggests automating the now paper-based registration process for events serving alcohol, a change that would apply to undergraduates and graduate students alike.
“The [Student Bar Association] would like the new policy to clearly articulate the roles, responsibilities and potential liabilities of students in their individual and student leader capacities,” the group’s president Mike Lueptow said.
Law students first raised concerns last semester that any gathering of five or more students from the same organization – regardless of age or location on or off campus – that offered alcohol was technically a violation of the code. The new code will look to clarify what qualifies as an event, Lueptow said.
He said graduate students should have a formal alcohol policy, as they look to enter a professional world where events with alcohol are prevalent, calling it “necessary to maintain a healthy environment.” But Lueptow added that parts of the policy, such as RAM training, could be better tailored to law students’ needs and concerns.
The University began a pilot program in November to reduce the ratio of RAM-trained sober monitors needed at graduate student events – shaving the 20-to-1 requirement down to one monitor for every 50 attendees. Pereira said the pilot was successful and the ratio change would likely be included in the revamped policy.
She also hopes to launch a website to facilitate event registration as part of the release.
The graduate policy revamp is part of a larger drive by Pereira to refocus the University’s judicial offices toward education instead of sanctions. Administrators met with graduate student groups, along with undergraduates, to air their grievances with the alcohol policy during the Center for Alcohol and other Drug Education’s listening tour this month.
Gabriel Slifka, director of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, said he did not have reservations about making distinctions for the graduate population but emphasized the growing role of education.
“So really it’s about being able to provide resources to them and make sure that they’re knowledgeable about the risks that they may be taking,” Slifka said.
Administrators from the University’s disciplinary offices will also talk to faculty and staff about distinguishing their alcohol rules from those applied to students, Pereira said. The current policy applies uniformly to the entire University community.
