A new policy on alcohol and other drugs that aims to support the learning process by promoting the health and safety of the entire campus community has been adopted by Cornell.
The new policy, two years in development, also upholds local, state and federal laws, requires strict management of events where alcohol is served, assigns responsibility for compliance, maintains a drug-free workplace and provides education on the risks associated with the use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs.
"There's a growing awareness that misuse of alcohol and use of other drugs can cause serious harm to students, staff, faculty and community members and, therefore, undermine the educational mission of the university," said Tim Marchell, director of substance abuse services in Cornell's University Health Services. "The policy shapes the environment in which people make choices about drinking. The changes in the new policy were made to help reduce the risk of alcohol-related problems."
Cornell's alcohol policy includes these rules and guidelines:
Marchell explains, "How people drink is influenced by the way alcohol is served, so the policy requires responsible management of events with alcohol."
The policy also includes appendices that provide guidelines for responsible management of events where alcohol is served, information about the health consequences of alcohol and other drug use and a summary of state and local laws relating to alcohol and other drugs.
"Perhaps the biggest challenge for the policy committee was to establish a set of clear guidelines that would address the diverse needs of the campus community," said Janis Talbot, Cornell health educator who chaired the 10-member committee. "The campus is composed of over 30,000 individuals, who hold different goals and responsibilties and who work, study and socialize in a variety of settings. The committee carefully considered the needs of all these individuals and groups."
In addition, Talbot added, "Particular attention was given to establish guidelines and procedures that would be applicable to the wide variety of events at which alcohol is served. To protect the health and safety of the campus community, the guidelines had to be efficient and enforceable."
Committee members met with a variety of campus constituencies, including students, in developing the policy.
In addition to putting together the universitywide policy, Cornell administrators supported leaders of fraternities and sororities as they developed a "Social Responsibility Policy" to cover events held by Greek organizations.
Suzy Nelson, associate dean of students in charge of Greek affairs, said the policy helps the chapters standardize their practices and "levels the playing field."
The social responsibility policy outlines registration of alcohol events and prohibits "open parties" with unrestricted access by nonmembers to alcohol events. It also prohibits advertising for alcohol events and regulates monitoring of events and renting chapter houses to other organizations.
Cornell officials are now in the process of distributing the general policy campus-wide and educating the community about the new changes.
The Cornell policy on alcohol and other drugs is available on the web at http://www.univco.cornell.edu/policy/alc.for.html.
| Cornell Chronicle Front Page | | Table of Contents | | Cornell News Service Home Page |