Report of Subgroup on Parents/Employees/Community - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 17
About This Presentation
Title:

Report of Subgroup on Parents/Employees/Community

Description:

Report of Subgroup on Parents/Employees/Community Alcohol and Campus Culture Working Group – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:85
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 18
Provided by: SallyB150
Learn more at: http://www.colby.edu
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Report of Subgroup on Parents/Employees/Community


1
Report of Subgroup on Parents/Employees/Community
  • Alcohol and Campus Culture
  • Working Group

2
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

3
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

4
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 dont 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.Ive had upperclass students
    tell me they do their best not to be on campus in
    January because, among other things, theres 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 Colbys
    campus, and how sharply it contrasted with their
    previous months abroad.

5
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.

6
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.

7
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

8
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. 

9
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."

10
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.

11
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. 

12
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 non-drinking
    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.

13
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.

14
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 dont 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.
    Colbys presence here is huge economically,
    socially, and culturally. That is appreciated by
    the community.

15
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.

16
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.

17
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
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com