Drinking policy enforced

by Beth Conahan news editor

Before you chug that next beer you might want to know what the consequences could be. Binge drinking can kill, injure, or leave a person at risk of assault. It is a story that finds its way into our news, another young person that dies of alcohol poisoning. It is an issue that college administrators must face each year as the statistics of young people who take part in binge drinking remains grim.

It is the terrible consequences of binge drinking that have led our own administrators to create written policies and procedures to enforce a healthy en 1ironment on campus.

Students received copies of the Department of Public Safety's Policies and Procedures for the year as well as copies of the Student Handbook, which if commuters have not yet received will shortly find in their mailboxes. These two publications are intended to clearly lay out the rules and consequences the administration has set for the student body.

Charlie Schaffner, the director of public safety, is not naive. He knows that be cannot stamp out drinking on campus. Students will drink. He only hopes that an environment intended for education can teach students to drink responsibly.

In 1999, there were 65 recorded alcohol policy violations on campus. In 2000, there were 228. The jump in numbers is not as shocking as it may seem. 2000 marked the beginning of a zero tolerance policy at Cabrini. "We're not going to tolerate the abuse of alcohol," Schaffner said.

His fears are not unlike the fears of so many others. Death, violence and injuries caused from irresponsible drinking. The numbers seem to be in everyone's favor so far this year.

Between the dates of Aug. 26 and Sept. 17, 2000, 91 citations were given out by public safety. Toe same dates of 2001 show only 40 citations made. Schaffner hopes this dramatic drop is a positive indication of things to come.

According to Schaffner, the students know the rules and "they know we're not fooling around and we're taking this seriously."