A proposal to change Otterbein’s alcohol policy was passed without any opposing voice votes by University Senate on March 3.
The proposal, if approved by the Board of Trustees, will allow consumption of alcohol for individuals who are age 21 and over at the commons apartments and at approved events. Individual students will be limited to possession of two six-packs, one bottle of wine or 750 milliliters of “spirituous liquor.” Students will be limited to two guests per resident in allowed housing when alcohol is being consumed. The proposal bans the manufacture of alcohol on campus property. Greek houses are not mentioned in the policy.
The proposal includes additional provisions to be implemented over the next three years, which include a host policy and implementation at Theme Houses and suite-style residential halls in the 2017-2018 academic year.
The proposal is the product of a student government ad-hoc committee, which had tentatively met weekly since Oct. 26. The ad-hoc committee examined policies at other OAC and Methodist-affiliated institutions and contacted campus administrators for their advice and approval.
After the passage of the bill, Vice President of Student Affairs Bob Gatti said, "I've been through a lot of alcohol proposals, and this has been the most thorough," and congratulated student senate on the proposal. In the past, Gatti has cited past proposals that failed to pass, either due to the graduation of a proponent of the bill or nonspecific language.
Gatti said in a Feb. 20 interview, "I think that the important thing is this is initiated by students, and I think that's going to have a positive impact on creating a healthy climate on campus,"
President Kathy Krendl, in an email statement, referenced praise for the students involved in drafting the new policy.
"The students involved in developing the proposed alcohol policy were praised by Senate members for their thorough and thoughtful process in developing the policy and bringing it forward," Krendl said.
Student senators Trent Johns and Jeremy Paul voted in favor of the proposal. Both said that “common sense” led them to vote for the proposal.
“[The proposal is] the law outside of campus while on this side there’s this magical wall,” Paul said, referring to the boundary between on-campus and off-campus property.
Carrie Coisman, president of student government and head of the ad-hoc committee, presented the new policy to the University Senate. A faculty senator raised the question of enforcement for violations not related to alcohol. In response, Coisman cited selective enforcement.
“The alcohol policy, as it stands, is only being implemented when there’s trouble. It’s not being implemented if there is no issue and that’s not going to change whether or not this alcohol policy gets implemented,” Coisman said.
The proposal was presented to the Student Life Committee of the Board of Trustees at its meeting on Feb. 19. It will now be sent to the Board for approval at its April 30 meeting, which takes place a day after the last day of exams.
Coisman said one of the Board’s concerns at the Feb. 19 meeting included the absence of any mention of Greek Houses in the proposal.
Coisman said, “we didn’t want to implement anything into Greek Housing until we had a hosting policy more well defined just due to the association of those two groups.”
Conner Dunn, student government vice president, who presented the proposal with Coisman, said that the Board of Trustees “seemed supportive. Their main concern was that we didn’t include ‘[Members of the] Board of Trustees’ in the policy.”
The senate assembly responded with laughter, apparently in a partying mood.
Will Day and Sean Feverston contributed reporting to this story.
Editor's note: This story was revised to comply with AP style guidelines.
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