Penn Ends Alcohol Ban, Offers New Proposals

After adverse student reaction, University of Pennsylvania (Penn) President Judith Rodin lifted the school's five-week old alcohol ban Tuesday after receiving the final report of a Working Group on Alcohol Abuse made up of students and faculty members.

The working group, made up of 14 students and five administrators and professors, had worked for nearly a month to prepare a plan to deal with alcohol abuse at Penn.

This committee and the temporary alcohol ban were sparked by the alcohol-related death of Penn graduate Michael Tobin at a fraternity party March 20. Tobin, who has been drinking, died after falling down a flight of stairs.

On March 26, Rodin and Penn Provost Robert L. Barchi announced a series of restrictions on alcohol at Penn.

These policies included a ban on alcohol from all undergraduate registered events, which encompasses all fraternity and sorority parties, as well as more law enforcement attention to parties with alcohol.

Enormous student protests followed the moves, including one demonstration that attracted 1,000 students.

The working group, whose students included the student government president and leaders in the campus Greek system, was also formed to A-1seek a more permanent solution. Since March 30,the group has been soliciting student opinion andpreparing a final report.

"We've been meeting multiple times a week,having serious honest discussion," said committeemember Jeffrey I. Snyder, a senior and the formerpresident of Phi Kappa Sigma.

The proposal produced by the group is dividedinto five major categories: education, ensuring asupportive environment,responsibility/accountability, minimizing risk andexpanded social options.

The group proposed the creation of an alcoholcoordinator, a ban on hard alcohol at allon-campus events and the end of alcoholdistribution at events after 1 a.m. Under Pennregulations, parties may continue until 2.am.

The proposal also includes a modification ofPenn's alcohol and drug policy stipulating thatstudents seeking medical attention for an alcoholor other drug related overdose or those seekinghelp for such a student will not be subject todisciplinary action.

"The Working Group on Alcohol Abuse...took itscharge very seriously and committed itself to workhard and long to come up with a set ofrecommendations that we could present to PresidentRodin before the end of the term," Barchi saidyesterday before the University Council, a bodymade up of students and faculty which advises thepresident.

Snyder said great care was taken to ensure thatevery facet of the proposal had unanimous supportfrom the working group's members, and studentswere given the loudest voice in the group.

"It was absolutely a student-driven process,"Snyder said. "Students proposed virtually everyidea."

This was a shift from the policies enacteddirectly after Tobin's death, which Barchi andRodin implemented without any student input,leading to many of the original objections bystudents.

Initially, many students said they believed thepolicy to be an attack on fraternities andsororities, which raise money through registeredparties.

InterFraternity Council President Mark D. Metzlsaid the group's proposal should alleviate anyGreek concerns.

"The report is more of an expansion of ourprograms and polices rather than any sort ofpunitive measure or a change of Greek life atPenn," Metzl said.

Snyder said that some aspects of the plan couldbe difficult to implement, especially ideas likebuilding a bowling alley on campus to increasesocial options.

"We did not consider finances or real estateavailability," Snyder said. "The approach that thecommittee took was we were going to leave that upto the officials."

He said, however, that he felt the plan was arealistic solution to alcohol problems on campus.

Snyder said students have had a mixed reactionto the group's proposal.

"There are students who expected us to go dryand for them, this is a victory," Snyder said."There are other people who want it to go back tothe way it was."

Rodin officially received the proposalyesterday and has now asked for students and othermembers of the Penn community to comment untilJune 30

"We've been meeting multiple times a week,having serious honest discussion," said committeemember Jeffrey I. Snyder, a senior and the formerpresident of Phi Kappa Sigma.

The proposal produced by the group is dividedinto five major categories: education, ensuring asupportive environment,responsibility/accountability, minimizing risk andexpanded social options.

The group proposed the creation of an alcoholcoordinator, a ban on hard alcohol at allon-campus events and the end of alcoholdistribution at events after 1 a.m. Under Pennregulations, parties may continue until 2.am.

The proposal also includes a modification ofPenn's alcohol and drug policy stipulating thatstudents seeking medical attention for an alcoholor other drug related overdose or those seekinghelp for such a student will not be subject todisciplinary action.

"The Working Group on Alcohol Abuse...took itscharge very seriously and committed itself to workhard and long to come up with a set ofrecommendations that we could present to PresidentRodin before the end of the term," Barchi saidyesterday before the University Council, a bodymade up of students and faculty which advises thepresident.

Snyder said great care was taken to ensure thatevery facet of the proposal had unanimous supportfrom the working group's members, and studentswere given the loudest voice in the group.

"It was absolutely a student-driven process,"Snyder said. "Students proposed virtually everyidea."

This was a shift from the policies enacteddirectly after Tobin's death, which Barchi andRodin implemented without any student input,leading to many of the original objections bystudents.

Initially, many students said they believed thepolicy to be an attack on fraternities andsororities, which raise money through registeredparties.

InterFraternity Council President Mark D. Metzlsaid the group's proposal should alleviate anyGreek concerns.

"The report is more of an expansion of ourprograms and polices rather than any sort ofpunitive measure or a change of Greek life atPenn," Metzl said.

Snyder said that some aspects of the plan couldbe difficult to implement, especially ideas likebuilding a bowling alley on campus to increasesocial options.

"We did not consider finances or real estateavailability," Snyder said. "The approach that thecommittee took was we were going to leave that upto the officials."

He said, however, that he felt the plan was arealistic solution to alcohol problems on campus.

Snyder said students have had a mixed reactionto the group's proposal.

"There are students who expected us to go dryand for them, this is a victory," Snyder said."There are other people who want it to go back tothe way it was."

Rodin officially received the proposalyesterday and has now asked for students and othermembers of the Penn community to comment untilJune 30