Glass Half Empty: RAs, students confused over alcohol policy after staff meeting

By Andrea Clarke
Elm Staff Writer

Ever since a routine staff meeting two weeks ago there has been an increasing sense of unrest among the residence life staff members at Washington College. Though the presentation only lasted about 15 minutes, the irritation and confusion the RAs left with continues to linger. At the beginning of the meeting, each RA was given a sheet titled “Resident Assistants and Underage Drinking,” which listed an excerpt of WC RA code of ethics as well as the alcohol regulations of Texas Christian University.

Regarding alcohol on campus, the sheet reads, “[RAs] will not consume alcohol when they are aware of the presence of a minor and will confront any situation pertaining to minors in possession of alcohol to the best of their ability.” Off campus, “if they encounter residents who they know are underage…they must do one of two things: (1) Privately confront the resident immediately about breaking the policy and stay or (2) Leave the off-campus location immediately and address the issue privately with the resident…within 48 hours.”

Area Directors Sarah Brill and David Stuebing said, “The handout was meant to serve as a spring board for discussion of the RA role around alcohol by juxtaposing expectations here and giving examples of what expectations are at other institutions.” Despite the measures listed in the handout, Brill and Stuebing maintain, “There are no specific changes to the college policy surrounding alcohol nor to the RA expectations.”

But, many RAs remain frustrated and unconvinced.

“Residential Life is now saying this was never meant as a mandate, they’re more along the lines of ‘cautionary guidelines.’ And yet, it definitely stirs up questions like, ‘why did this happen now?’” All RAs who spoke to the Elm did so under the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

“They’ve said these are just a few of the policies that are going to be enacted so it sounds like this is just the beginning of ‘phased’ process,’” said another RA.
After the meeting, Brill and Stuebing “noticed that there was some confusion and misunderstanding amongst the RA staff.”

While students admit to some confusion, few claim the presentation was anything but unclear.

“They called us in to clarify but my view of these policies hasn’t changed. Until there is an outright retraction, you don’t really know what’s what,” said an RA. “It puts these new policies in an innocuous grey area of, be on notice, but not really.”

“Under these new policies, if a resident’s door is open, are now allowed to enter their rooms and if they are under 21, we are obligated to report them. But, in the same line, they say, ‘we are not the Beer Police,’ and this seems to be contradicting what they put on paper,” said an RA. “The Res Life staff doesn’t want RAs to drink with students who are under 21, whether they’re our residents or not, but the majority of the student population is underage and does drink, so this means we’re cut off from a significant portion of the student population.”

“Our paycheck is very low so to create this kind of policy is ridiculous,” said an RA. “Many of the members don’t feel comfortable with these new policies and we don’t feel like our concerns are being taken into consideration.”

“The culture around alcohol is always a good conversation to have,” said Carl Crowe, associate dean of students and director of Resident Life. After 20 years of experience, Crowe realizes that “There is a fine line to walk as an RA…they are expected to be role models and develop relationships with students on their floor, which might involve talking about their choices…they are valued for the work they’re currently doing.”

In regards to the college’s position on alcohol, “I have not been a part of any conversation about sobering the campus,” he said. “This year has been a change for us (added new staff) and we’re getting used to our new growth. Issues are going to happen—no department is perfect in that regard.”

Crowe feels that RA concerns are the result of a “big misunderstanding” and that things were “lost in translation.” The meeting two weeks ago was intended “to get [staff members] to think and make some good judgments.”

At Washington College there is a strong opinion that drinking is “part of college,” and one student pointed out, “We haven’t had a student die here because of alcohol poisoning in recent memory. My fear is with these new policies, underage drinkers will find themselves in a situation where they’ve drunk too much and they’re afraid to call in an RA because they don’t want to get in trouble.”

Another RA added, “I think they’re well-intentioned, but I don’t think these policies will work here. People will get hurt.”

One staff member contributes this state of confusion to “new administration [that has] backgrounds at more conservative institutions which are stricter with their alcohol policies.”
Brill was a resident hall director at Shepard University that has a code of conduct that echoes several of the disputed policies listed in the handout, and Steubing was a staff resident at Purdue University, a
dry campus.

Nevertheless, Brill said, ““neither David nor I are interested in making Washington College ‘dry.’” Both Brill and Stuebing emphasize that “our past experiences really have no bearing on this conversation. Every institution is different in terms of [its] culture. What works at Purdue doesn’t work for Washington College.”

In fact, Stuebing said, “My educational perspective is that students need to be given opportunities to develop their own sense of judgment…From that perspective, to become a dry campus would be counter-productive.”

In spite of this, one RA commented, “I like this job. I just don’t like what it’s becoming. I love helping underclassmen get acclimated to campus life and find their way here. That’s why I signed up to be an RA in the first place. If I had gotten these guidelines before the beginning of the year, I would have quit.”

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