Allie Bedell
Student Life Editor
Keene State College students can expect to see more dialogue this semester about drug and alcohol policy and what are the most appropriate approaches to deal with student use.
The president’s cabinet appointed an Alcohol and Other Drug Committee (AOD) during the spring of 2011 to evaluate the methods the college uses in dealing with alcohol and drug issues. This fall, students are banding together to create a local chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), a national youth movement to change drug and alcohol approaches that punish students.
Chairing the college’s AOD Committee are Dr. Brian Quigley, the director of the Counseling Center, and Dr. Finneran, a health science professor. The committee is still in the planning stages, but plans to invite students to participate and has already reached out to faculty on campus.
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The committee will serve with three main functions: to assess the current climate on campus of drug and alcohol use, to determine what policies are effectively being used at other institutions across the nation, and finally, to determine what needs to be adapted on the KSC campus in order to create a healthier environment for students and the entire KSC community.
Quigley said there are many different areas of campus currently working to better KSC’s policies, but there is not one centralized campus-wide effort.
“We have a lot going on, but every area is sort of doing something,” Quigley said.
“It’s an attempt to take what’s happening and put it under a single umbrella.”
While the idea of this centralized committee is just a few months old and still in its beginning stages, it’s nothing extraordinarily different than what the college has been doing.
“The committee isn’t something that’s grand and new, necessarily,” Quigley said. “This has sort of been an evolution of things.”
Last year, for example, Mark Schmidl-Gagne, the dispute resolution coordinator, hosted a series of “brown bag discussions” where members of the KSC community were welcome to come discuss different philosophies regarding drug and alcohol use and the methods administrations can use to deal with them. Tiffany Mathews, the coordinator of wellness education, also has run the Social Norms Committee, which is responsible for releasing statistical information about drinking habits of KSC students, recognizably in the form of cups, pens, etc., to demonstrate that there are alternatives to drinking.
Andy Robinson, the vice president of student affairs, called for the creation of the committee after the president received letters about the alcohol policy.
“I think the concerns people expressed were correct,” Robinson said. “We obviously still have an alcohol problem.”
The idea behind the AOD committee is not to create tough policy, but to find what is most effective in keeping students safe.
“The reality is not to be too moralistic,” Robinson said.
Quigley emphasized that the committee is open to all ideas.
“The committee doesn’t have any agenda,” Quigley said. “What we’re trying to do is look at all of those methods out there. The committee’s going in with an open mind.”
Finneran noted that a college community is like a small subset of the larger culture and society. By more effectively communicating across campus, students will have examples of how to better deal with drug and alcohol issues in the real world too.
“We just want to be a standing body that reviews these things,” Finneran said. ““There are drug and alcohol issues that play a part in the life of the college. It’s good to get everyone on the same page.”
As for the timing of the AOD Committee’s creation and the emergence of KSC’s chapter of SSDP, there is no connection other than coincidence.
“I think the college should take these advisements under consideration,” Robinson said. “That’s kind of a good role for this committee. The more these issues can be addressed and discussed, the better.”
Junior Jake Russell is leading the SSDP’s movement to KSC. SSDP is a national group that aims to change college policy to prevent punishing students caught using alcohol or drugs. Currently, SSDP is working on a “Good Samaritan Policy,” which would protect students who call emergency services for their friends in the case of a drug or alcohol related emergency.
“It’s time for a rational conversation about the consequences of our drug policy,” Russell said, noting that passing a “Good Samaritan Policy” would help save lives, also adding that UNH students just passed one last year.
According to Jen Ferrell, the director of student involvement, SSDP used to be a group recognized by the college, and Russell is bringing it back. He is currently going through student government’s process of creating a constitution and being recognized. Currently, more than 100 students have expressed interest.
Although the group has potential to be controversial, most see it as being beneficial, as it will provide the college with other ways to look at policy and it will create discussion. According to Ferrell, the college has no issue with the group unless they violate college policy.
“Whether or not I agree with the message, I am glad that our students feel comfortable speaking openly and voicing opinions,” Ferrell said. “If, in the future, the group were to violate college policies or go one step further, then we might certainly have a different conversation on our hands.”
Amanda Warman, director of Campus Safety, feels the same way.
“Students organizing to support a common goal and advocate a position is a good way to exercise their rights as citizens and an important aspect of learning,” Warman said. “Whether or not I agree with a position is not nearly as important.”
Allie Bedell can be contacted at abedell@keene-equinox.com