New activities decrease partying at BRH

College students have a reputation for partying hard and drinking irresponsibly. This year Belmont Residence Hall is making greater efforts to control under-age and binge drinking amongst its residents.

The Director of Resident Life and Housing Marjorie Villani talked about the drinking issues they have encountered so far throughout the semester.

Villani said she felt like there have been far less alcohol incidences so far compared to this time last year. She said that she did not believe drinking amongst residents was a huge problem.

“We have had about one or two incidents a weekend, but none have been very serious or have created too big of a problem,” said Villani.

Villani said she believed drinking in the residence hall has been so low because of the no-tolerance expectation she has for the residents.

“We do not accept drinking under any circumstance here in Belmont Residence Hall,” said Villani. “We want to catch it now because if it keeps going on students could become addicted, or worse, hurt themselves or others. Our main goal is to give students a positive and safe academic experience. Alcohol is a threat to that goal.”

Villani said she wants students to know that there will be consequences if they are caught drinking. She understands that students do not like to be reprimanded, but she believes that her consequences are a superior alternative to the consequences a student may face if they hurt themselves or others due to alcohol.

One way Villani is attempting to address the issues of underage and binge drinking amongst residents is by providing alternative social programs.

The goal of the programs is to help students become engaged and socially interactive without feeling the pressure of partying and getting drunk.

Villani said that if students feel like they have enough alternatives to keep them socially involved they may be less likely to give in to the pressure of dinking.

Activities such as game and movie nights involve the residents and help them to make friends. The residence hall also offers tutorial help in an attempt to keep students interested and on task with academics.

Villani said she believes that a combination of academic help and social interaction is a good start to control drinking.

Another, more direct, attempt to control alcohol in the residence hall is though the very strict monitoring of the residents. Villani said the resident assistants are all trained to deal with any alcohol issues. If residents are found possessing alcohol of any kind the RAs are trained to deal with the matter appropriately.

“The first thing we teach our resident assistants is to make sure it is a safe situation,” said Villani. “Our main concern is the safety of our residents. Once the RAs have made sure the person in question is safe, they are trained to deal with the situation from there.”

Jessica Sanchez, resident assistant, said that the RAs are required to do walk-throughs of each floor after 10 p.m. when quiet hours begin. She said they listen for noisy rooms, and they are on the look out for people vomiting.

Sanchez said that if they walk by a noisy room they will knock on it to warn the residents to keep it quiet. She said that if there are any signs of drinking they will keep everyone in the room and call the assistant hall director on duty.

Sanchez said the RAs are required to check IDs and call the Sherriff’s department. Once the police arrive tickets are issued to under-age drinkers and non-residents are sent home.

Sanchez also said that if it is an incident where a resident is vomiting and it is obvious that the cause is alcohol, they will take any precaution necessary to ensure the resident’s safety.

She said that in some cases they are required to call for emergency assistance. In those instances, the resident is dealt with after it is ensured that they are safe and healthy.

Overall, Sanchez said she felt that the drinking in the residence hall has been much lower compared to the previous year. She said that she felt that a huge part of this was due to the fact that the floor A1 had been closed.

A1 is the only floor in the residence hall that is ground level. The floor was closed for maintenance and construction, but Sanchez said that the ground-level windows made it easy for residents to sneak alcohol in and out of the hall. She said that now that the students to not have access to this floor she has seen a lot less alcohol floating around the rooms.

Residents Kylie Twiliger and Natalia Smith agreed that it is very difficult to bring alcohol into the hall.

“Since A1 has closed people try to sneak alcohol through the front door all the time,” said Twiliger. “It’s really hard to get past the front desk because they make us show IDs and they will search our bags if they look suspicious.”

Twiliger and Smith both said they felt like the residence hall was doing a good job at discouraging drinking. They said that the RAs make it so difficult to bring alcohol in that most do not even attempt it. They also said that because of the strict consequences residents have to face if they are caught, most do not even take the risk.

Twiliger and Smith both agreed that many residents drink off-campus, but they said that they are impressed with the efforts being made to encourage students to choose other alternatives to drinking. They said they believe it will start making a difference.

Villani said she is impressed with the apparent interest in the activities being provided for residents. She said she hopes that residents will start to take advantage of the activities and discover they do not need to drink in order to enjoy their college experience.

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