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Elizabeth Lidano, director of the Office of Judicial Affairs & Ombudsman in the Division of Student Affairs, is chair of the Alcohol Review Board.
What is the Alcohol Review Board?
The ARB is a group of
faculty, students and administrators from around campus that reviews
campus alcohol policies, supports programs and activities that educate
students about alcohol abuse and authorizes and monitors requests for
groups to serve alcohol on campus.
The ARB is part of the Office of Judicial Affairs & Ombudsman.
Why?
I think the link between alcohol abuse and disciplinary
problems is a common one. Therefore, the chair of the committee also has
been the director of Judicial Affairs.
Describe some of the alcohol awareness programs or events that the
ARB sponsors.
The ARB traditionally has sponsored a speaker in
the spring semester that is geared toward athletes, RAs and fraternities
and sororities about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. In this
case, we receive support from a NCAA speakers grant. We also are
sponsors of Funfest, which is a great event that usually happens on a
Friday evening and provides intramural sports, music, dancing, food and
prizes so that students have an alternative to the bar scene. In past
years, the ARB has sponsored a variety of Alcohol Awareness Week
programs, and programs on drug abuse as well.
Some universities, notably Syracuse University, sell alcohol at
on-campus sporting events. Why don't we do that here at UB?
It
is a university decision not to sell alcohol at athletic events. Our fan
base is both students and families, and I think those demographics
contributed to the decision. Personally, I think it is appropriate from
a student-conduct point-of-view. Alcohol at athletic events could
promote negative fan behavior and safety concerns.
Whether we like it or not, drinking has become a recreational
activity at colleges and universities—it's perceived to be part of
the "student experience." How do you combat that attitude?
Many universities have what they call a "social norms" campaign
where they try to combat what students perceive as the "norm" in terms
of alcohol and drug use. We currently are working on some projects that
would give us data to do such a campaign here. Many students think that
all students drink or drink to excess, but only some actually do.
Getting real data out there would be effective, in my opinion.
Is binge drinking a problem at UB?
I don't find UB to be
unique in terms of students' drinking habits. We have the same problems
as any other campus.
What are the consequences for an underage student caught drinking
on campus? Does UB take any disciplinary action against students
arrested for underage drinking off campus?
Underage students
are sanctioned if caught drinking on campus. A likely sanction would be
mandatory attendance at an alcohol and drug education workshop and
community service hours. University Residence Halls & Apartments
currently uses a tool called MyStudentBody.com, a Web-based, alcohol-and-drug
education program that students work through online. It helps them
understand their own habits and define whether or not they are at risk
for dangerous behavior. We will know better how this program works when
we evaluate it after a year of use. UB also charges students with a
violation of the Student Rules and Regulations, even if the violation
happens off campus. In particular, we take serving alcohol to minors
very seriously. A student found serving alcohol to minors could be
arrested and temporarily suspended from campus.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
I want to say that
the ARB has evolved quite a bit through the years. We no longer spend
much time on approving events where alcohol is served. We do discuss
trends in student alcohol use and more and more we discuss drug abuse
and ways to combat dangerous behavior. Many departments are represented
on the ARB such as Residence Halls & Apartments, Student Life, Student
Health/Wellness Services, University Police, Veterans' Affairs,
Professional Staff Senate, Faculty Senate, Educational Opportunity
Program, Center for the Arts, Student Association and the Division of
Athletics.