The e-mail specifically cited five new measures in the University's "continued efforts to reduce underage and binge drinking," according to The Daily Collegian. Such rules include the prohibition of alcoholic paraphernalia including taps and funnels, limited gatherings of 10 people or less in dorm rooms with alcohol and the banning of drinking games that promote excessive drinking. Students 21 and over are only permitted to keep up to 12 cans of beer, two bottles of wine or one bottle of hard liquor. Finally, as part of the school's "Good Samaritan Protocol," students suffering from alcohol-related sicknesses or injuries are recommended to receive medical attention at health services. Each UMass student had to sign a paper acknowledging the implementation of the new alcohol policies to move back onto campus. With a three year $1.5 million federal grant in hand, the University is intensifying its efforts to combat a range of issues from noise violations to binge drinking to underage alcohol consumption.
These new measures have sparked much controversy among the student body. Some students, enraged by their perception of the administration's unreasonable stance on alcohol consumption, only grew more determined to bend the rules and continue their drinking patterns. Sophomore Julia Ball told The Collegian, "Students are still going to drink, they're still going to play beer pong. They always find a way." Others were skeptical of the school's ability to search every room for empty beer bottles and Beirut tables.
Brett Crosby, in an editorial in The Collegian, pointed a finger at the administration's lack of understanding in tackling the real problems on campus. Crosby wrote, "This campus simply cannot and will not be improved with stricter rules and regulations, and may even make it worse. Alcohol abuse and control will always be a problem as long as the University continues to ignore the physical and mental needs of students." Rather than cracking down on drinking parties, some students believe they will be more receptive to alcohol policies that would change students' attitudes towards drinking, such as alcohol education programs.
Nationwide, administrators are increasingly concerned with what they see as an epidemic of alcohol abuse on college campuses. Schools have addressed this concern in a number of different approaches, ranging from alcohol-free campuses to the offering of counseling programs and more alcohol-free events.
-Jennifer Sung