Rumors have been put to rest that university officials are planning on making Loyola alcohol-free.
Chris Cameron, director of Danna Center and student activities, confirmed that there were no plans to make Loyola a dry campus, although discussions remain open for amending the residential hall drinking policies.
This rumor circulating through the campus entailed a proposition to ban all alcohol on campus, allegedly proposed by the university deans.
Frank Scully, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Edward Kvet, dean of the College of Music, denied the existence of any such proposition. Both noted that it is not the role of university deans to make decisions on campus policy.
Any decisions of policy changes must be made by the Student Affairs Policy Advisory Committee, of which Cameron is a member. Other members of the committee are James Eiseman, vice president of student affairs; Robert Reed, director of residential life; Mary Hayes, student government association representative; the Rev. Edward Gros, S.J., director of university ministry; and university senate members Deborah Poole, associate professor for university library; Thomas Zamparelli, associate professor for French; and John Whelan, assistant professor for physics.
Eiseman said that although the issue has come up before, no decision had yet been made.
Hayes, the sole student voice on the committee, said she would not support a dry campus proposition, nor had the issue come up at all in the committee’s discussions.
Although the immediate threat of Loyola becoming dry may be unfounded, the likelihood of a change to the current drinking policies in dorms remains a strong possibility.
According to the university handbook, all students, 18 or over, are allowed to consume alcohol in a responsible manner in all residential life dorm rooms.
SGA President Martina Mills, communications senior, explained that the proposed amendments to that policy include a complete ban of alcohol in the dorms or a mandate that only students 21 years of age or older can possess and consume alcohol in their rooms.
Both Mills and Hayes are opposed to such changes.
“I think that it is safer to have students drinking on campus then having them go out driving,” Mills said.
Cameron explained that review of such policies are contingent on determining the liability and risks that Loyola has in allowing students to continue to drink on campus.
“I don’t support the notion of no alcohol on campus,” Cameron said. He is also opposed to a change that would restrict those students over the age of 21 from consuming alcohol in their dorm rooms.
According to a non-profit research firm survey in spring of 2004, 54 percent of Loyola students participate in binge drinking. Binge drinking is described for males as having five or more alcoholic drinks in a sitting, four or more for females.
Cameron does not believe that the residential hall policies necessarily encourage drinking on campus, noting that many of the problems involving alcohol in the dorms are the result of students who go drinking at local bars and then return to campus.
Tulane changed its alcohol policy in recent years from one that was similar to Loyola’s present policy and now restricts first year students from drinking on campus.
Adam Hennessey can be reached at [email protected].