Otterbein’s student government is forming a proposal to change the alcohol policy.
The executive committee of student government announced an ad-hoc committee to investigate the alcohol policy at the Oct. 22 student government meeting.
“I think it’s a general understanding of the campus climate,” student government President Carrie Coisman said about the decision to form the committee. “We could do a formal survey, but we have one from 2013 that says that the majority of Otterbein students are in favor of changing the alcohol policy.”
Coisman said the committee’s goal will be to ready a draft to send to student government by Jan. 14 and have the proposed policy read at University Senate by Feb. 3. The policy must be passed by University Senate and approved by the Board of Trustees in order to take effect.
Before the announcement, Sens. Steven Lollo and Michael Krakomberger separately brought up the issue of creating a “wet” campus, each citing what they have heard from students.
This is the first time a meeting of the newly formed student government has directly addressed this issue.
The committee formally met on Oct. 26. The committee planned meetings with Otterbein's administration which were meant to "bring them on board." The committee also started talks about what the policy should entail. It examined policies from schools such as Wittenberg University, Denison College and Capital University. The ad-hoc committee is slated to be held every Monday at 6 p.m. in the Campus Center PDR.
At the Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 23, Judy Guion-Utsler, Otterbein’s chaplain, used “abolition” and “temperance” as two “values” that serve as reasons why Otterbein should remain affiliated with the Methodist Church.
Bob Gatti, vice president of student affairs, said that a student “a few years ago” had previously developed a proposal to allow alcohol for personal consumption on campus before student government was formed.
“It was a recommendation, it was well thought out, she accessed the other schools and colleges and universities. I personally, and that doesn’t mean the university was, but I personally was very comfortable with her proposal,” Gatti said. “And then she graduated and I think it lost some momentum when students who thought that an alcohol policy would allow kegs in Davis hall serving 18, 19-year-olds was gonna be approved."
The Otterbein student handbook states the current alcohol policy for Otterbein, which prohibits any consumption of alcohol on campus, the mention of alcohol on any event promotions, intoxication and empty alcoholic beverages. Violations of the policy are listed as level-three violations, on par with gambling, hazing, illegal trespass and reckless destruction of property, among other violations.
Student government bylaws allow an executive committee made up of the president, the vice president, secretary, speaker, student trustees and a non-voting student adviser to “create ad-hoc committees to fulfill short-term needs or address issues on campus.”
"It's gonna happen, if not today, then tomorrow, or the next day. We are a progressive community and the progressive approach here is to not limit it but at the same time not let students go wild but instead create an environment where students can learn to drink responsibly," Conner Dunn, vice-president of student government, said.
Otterbein360 and its predecessor, the Tan and Cardinal newspaper, have hosted extensive coverage and debate on Otterbein’s alcohol policy.
