Administrators at the College do not agree on whether the same troubles are prevalent here. Denise McGoldrick, director of health education, believes there has been an increase in the number of first-year students who have been transported by ambulance to Cooley-Dickinson Hospital. Since health services only treats students during the day, they rely on ambulance transport numbers to judge the prevalence of abusive drinking on campus in the evening. Chief of Police John Carter said that a number of prospective students have been taken to the emergency room this academic year.
Administrators do not foresee changes in policy regarding alcohol consumption. "We may need to change our policies, but we haven't gotten there yet," said President Anthony Marx.
Carter has observed an increase in student referrals for alcohol abuse, but he believes the rise is due to a College policy implemented in 2000 allowing campus police to walk through common areas in first-year dormitories. Drinking at the College is the "same as it always has been," said Carter. Part of that problem is the incidents of prospective students being transported to the hospital for alcohol-related illness.
Jim Plumer, the women's hockey coach, confirmed that a prospective student hosted by a women's hockey player recently was taken to the hospital for an alcohol-induced illness. He believes, however, that "all situations are unique situations-this is not indicative of problems on our team," he said. "I don't expect that it'll happen again-it's never happened before."
He also noted that instances of alcohol abuse among athletic recruits must factor into their admissions decisions.
Admissions officers agree. "It would be a point of discussion in the admissions process if we heard that [a pre-frosh was caught drinking]," said Associate Dean of Admissions Michael Hawkins, a member of the Alcohol Task Force. "There haven't been any reports of problems with pre-frosh we have hosted," he noted.
Hawkins said he believes the problem lies in the reality that any prospective student, not just ones officially hosted by the College, can spend the night on campus.
Amherst College Emergency Medical Service first-responder Liz Dei Rossi '05 thinks first-years are perceived as drinking more than other students because they do not yet know how to handle alcohol emergencies. "Our number of calls decreases throughout the semester," she said. First-responders are only permitted to treat College students, so any prospective students experiencing difficulties must be treated at night by off-campus responders.
Currently, prospectives and their hosts receive a copy of Massachusetts state law concerning underage drinking, but hosts cannot monitor prospective students for the entire duration of their visits. "Most of the time, they went out themselves," said Rachel Gilbert '06 who has hosted prospective students. "I asked them to tell me where they were going and we were supposed to meet up at a certain time," she said.
Marx advised students to be careful. "I will find whatever way I can to explain to the students on this campus that we want everyone to have fun, as well as to work hard. If you drink or party to excess, you can hurt yourself or hurt others and it's our responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen," he said. "Let me be a little more precise: In a single moment of ill judgment, you can ruin your life ... I urge the students to think hard about that. It's not worth it," he said.
Gretchen Krull, assistant director of health education, noted an early intervention program exists to deal with students who experience alcohol emergencies. "If someone goes to the hospital, there is a follow-up conversation [with a member of the health services staff]," she said. Krull also said that more campus groups have been trained to handle drug and alcohol abuse. Student security, resident counselors and tour guides currently receive such training.
Tour guides can be utilized to correct what Krull calls a "misperception of norms" among prospectives. "What we do know statistically about the school [concerning alcohol consumption]," she tells tour guides, is that "on average, 20 percent of Amherst students identify themselves as non-drinkers." Krull believes that while tour guides should be able to personalize their tours, she does not want guides to falsely indicate that all students at the College drink.