new drinking policy at Siena College

[hoosier]

For Siena, glass is completely empty
To maintain security, college outlaws drinking beverages outside dorms

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By KENNETH AARON, Staff writer
First published: Wednesday, September 28, 2005


COLONIE -- There's a new drinking policy at Siena College.

No drinking.

Of anything.

Even water. Or iced tea. Or coffee, Red Bull or lemonade. Or vodka or beer, for that matter, in case anybody gets any bright ideas.

According to a policy dated Sept. 17, students are "no longer allowed to consume alcohol or any other beverage in any type of container outside of their townhouse or in any public area on campus."

College officials maintain the rule is meant to increase security after a spate of off-campus party crashers showed up early this semester, and police responded to noisy gatherings outside student apartments. Some outsiders were arrested for burglarizing apartments during those parties, using the hurly-burly for cover.

Because students weren't abiding by campus rules to register all outside guests, officials decided they had to crack down to reduce the gatherings. "Safety first, that's what it's all about," Siena spokeswoman Janet Gianopoulos said.

But does the new policy also mean a person who buys a Pepsi in a vending machine on the Loudonville campus and opens it on one of the lush quads is breaking the rules?

Yes, Gianopoulos said. But they can crack open that drink once they reach their residence, she added.

And people would be able to buy beverages and consume them in dining halls, she said, as well as at school-sanctioned events.

According to an e-mail obtained by the Times Union, Siena officials don't plan on citing offenders for every little violation. But on nights and weekends, RAs may require students to empty their containers no matter what's in them.

Gianopoulos reported the policy is being adhered to. She said campus security officers had asked a few people -- who belonged on campus -- to take their cups and move inside last weekend.

Not everybody's thrilled with the restrictions: A cartoon in the Sept. 22 Promethean, the student newspaper, shows a person engulfed in flames begging for water. "And get caught with an open container?" an observer says. "What're you, stupid?"

Interviews with Siena students indicated that not everybody was familiar with the policy. A handful of students walking around campus with drinks either hadn't heard of the new rule or said they weren't afraid of it; some said they knew of others forced to dump beverages by authorities, but hadn't lost liquids themselves.

One, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said his residence assistant announced the changes during a dorm meeting and pointed to people holding colas and water. They're verboten outside of dorm rooms, he was told, and would result in getting written up.

Another, sophomore Michael Carr, said he saw somebody told to empty a Starbucks coffee outside a dorm.

He was later questioned about the contents of his Poland Spring bottle. "I was a little annoyed," he said. "I thought that was a little stupid."

Like many students, Carr acknowledged that the early semester partying got out of hand and he was happy to see administrators cracking down on bad behavior.