Brandeis administrators and members of the Brandeis University Alcohol Task Force are working to update alcohol policies after multiple alcohol-related hospitalizations during Springfest and Senior Week last semester. Alcohol consumption has long been a topic of concern on college campuses, and Brandeis has many resources both to help students with substance use concerns and to address violations of university policy.
Eleven intoxicated people were transported to the hospital for further care at Springfest alone, and one was transported to the Waltham Police Station for booking, police logs report. Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo) assessed other intoxicated concertgoers, many of whom did not receive further medical care.
These incidents have “placed Brandeis under a high level of very understandable scrutiny from local authorities,” administrators wrote in an email to students titled “The email you are expecting” sent just after Springfest. According to the email, Waltham and campus police officers were expected to increase patrols for Senior Week in light of the recent problems.
On Saturday, May 21, Brandeis police requested backup from Waltham police after a “hostile crowd” of about 500 people began throwing rocks and bottles at the officers, who were on scene to treat an intoxicated party.
Alcohol-related emergencies are especially prevalent the first few weeks of the school year, though BEMCo treats intoxicated students throughout the year.
“There is a disproportionate number of students who are inexperienced with alcohol, and they are less likely to know their limits for drinking without creating a medical emergency,” BEMCo member Rose Solomon ’15 told The Brandeis Hoot in September 2014. The new student orientation program usually includes alcohol education, acknowledging that students have varying levels of experience drinking. Solomon cited a reduced workload as one reason why students are inclined to drink more at the beginning of the semester.
Administrators reported a spike in the number of intoxicated first-years requiring assistance from BEMCo last September. The university responded to these incidents by suspending party permits for a two-week period for upperclassmen residences of the Foster Mods.
The Task Force, which in the past has successfully promoted and helped institute policies such as medical amnesty, is comprised of students, faculty and staff and “meets regularly to examine campus consciousness and create educational opportunities regarding student use of alcohol and other drugs,” according to Brandeis’ website. The Task Force will meet in the fall “to continue discussions on our campus policies and practices regarding alcohol and drug abuse prevention,” said Senior Vice President for Student and Enrollment Andrew Flagel.
About 20 percent of Brandeis students identify as “non-drinkers,” according to the Health Center’s webpage. Most students who do drink reported that they consume between zero and five drinks when they go to parties. The Center emphasizes making healthy, individualized choices, keeping in mind factors like weight and tolerance when deciding how much is safe to drink.
Flagel has asked staff “to make recommendations for policy changes we might pilot early this fall to limit student risk and harm.” Such changes might include “reducing or removing policies that might facilitate high-volume consumption of alcohol, especially hard liquors in mixed drinks that can mask the dangerous effects of binge drinking.”
Flagel said that he hopes efforts to improve policies regarding underage and binge drinking will bring “campus policies more in line with national best practices.”
