Alcohol sends fewer students to hospital

Jailings and OWIs have also decreased from last year, while citations have increased. Meanwhile, Student Affairs continues to offer alcohol-free programing

by Josh Cooley

Grinnell’s binge drinking rate is holding steady, but compared to last year, this year has seen 11 fewer hospitalizations for alcohol overdoses, three fewer jailings and six fewer arrests for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

The biggest alcohol-related change this year is the increased frequency of the Grinnell Police Department in issuing citations for underage drinking. In the fall, Police Chief Jody Matherly visited the campus to talk about alcohol laws with students. All but one of the houses on High Street, where alcohol related incidents and arrests usually occur, had a representative present.

“Nothing’s really changed at all since last year,” said Matherly, who became the town’s new chief of police in April 2003. “There’s been no real increase or decrease in particular incidents. ... If we’ve stepped it up, it hasn’t been by design.”

Dean for Student Life Jen Krohn hopes that having more students living on campus next year will lower the number of arrests, noting that most of this year’s arrests have occurred off-campus. “I have the sense that there are fewer alcohol-related events than we’ve had in past years,” she said.

Krohn also noted the administration’s decreased role in dealing with alcohol-related incidents that have gotten out of control. “Students are doing a good job of seeking out RLC’s when they’re concerned about a student,” she said.

Though the administration has continued to have base its alcohol policy around the hands-off approach associated with self-governance, it has taken a new role in planning non-alcoholic programming. During the fall semester, Student Affairs sponsored two non-alcoholic events per week and one on the weekend.

Noting the low attendance at last semester’s weekday events, they have switched their emphasis to the weekends during the spring semester, sometimes having back-to-back non-alcoholic events on both Friday and Saturday nights.

According to Krohn, the college will have at least the same amount of alcohol-free events next year as it had this year. Upcoming alcohol-free events for the remainder of the spring semester include Grinnell Idol, bowling, a screening of the Final Episode of Friends and the pre-finals pancake study break.