Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Brandon Rattiner criticized the administration's handling of a recent change to the school's alcohol policy, saying in his State of the TCU address on Sept. 20 that administrators did not seek student input before making a decision.
But he softened his tone in a subsequent interview, saying he was optimistic that the university would involve students in future decisions.
"The adoption of huge changes without proper student consultation — like the recent move to have first [alcohol] violation offenses lead to probation one — is disingenuous and shows a lack of respect for student input," Rattiner said in the speech, referring to the policy instituted at the start of the semester.
The policy mandates that students punished for drinking illegally immediately receive level-one disciplinary probation, or pro-one, rather than the warning they used to get. A second offense now triggers level-two disciplinary probation, or pro-two, which includes parental notification and a number of restrictions on conduct.
Rattiner pledged in his address that the Senate would act to preserve student input in discussions about the alcohol policy and protect students against perceived unilateral action by the administration.
"We will not be a mere rubber stamp of student approval," he said of the Senate.
But in an interview with the Daily days after the speech, Rattiner seemed to soften his position, saying he had not meant to denounce the administration, but to articulate his hopes for the future.
"The reason I felt it necessary to include that [part of the speech] was to reiterate the Senate's position," he said. "It wasn't meant to be a threat, and it wasn't meant to suggest that the administration is going to be dishonest about this process. It was just meant in a positive way to reinforce what the students need."
Rattiner added that students need to take ownership of the fact that they created the need for a change in policy. "The administration doesn't just start a conversation like this on its own," he said. "We push them to a point, and we need to realize that."
Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman acknowledged the need for student feedback in dealing with policy. "I know Brandon feels there are other approaches possible to addressing the culture of dangerous drinking," Reitman said. "There may be alternative ways to approach [the issue]."
But Reitman reiterated his firm belief in the need for stricter guidelines on alcohol use. "I will be open-minded to different ways to approach this issue, but we're not going to abandon the new effort," Reitman said.
The new regulation has drawn some criticism because alcohol violations are often dispensed after alcohol-related calls to Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS). The new policy's critics say that the threat of probation could discourage people from calling TEMS when an intoxicated friend is in need.
"There's a perception that a good friend is someone who will call TEMS when you're drunk. I'd like to redefine that — a good friend is someone who doesn't let you get to the point of having to call TEMS," Reitman said.
Reitman said that the biggest catalyst for changing the alcohol policy has been the increasing severity of hospitalized students' conditions. According to Reitman, while the number of students requiring transport to hospitals for alcohol sickness has remained constant, the seriousness of hospitalized students' drunkenness has been a cause of "grave concern" to hospital staff.
"It's reaching a stage where there needs to be intervention," Reitman said. "I don't want someone to die."
Reitman said that his goal for the new alcohol policy is not to crack down on students but to change the "culture of dangerous drinking" on campus.
"My goal is not to give people disciplinary problems," he said. "It's to change the culture of students seeing getting smashed as a good evening activity."
According to Reitman, there was "a great deal of student input" in administration meetings held last spring regarding the alcohol policy and major university events. He counted students from the Senate Executive Board, Programming Board, TEMS and "residential staff" among those present.
TCU Vice President Antonella Scarano, who attended some of the meetings in her capacity as a member of the Senate Executive Board last year, told the Daily that the meetings focused primarily on alcohol abuse during Spring Fling. "We didn't really discuss anything but Spring Fling," said Scarano, a senior.
Rattiner and Reitman have met several times since the beginning of the school year as part of regular meetings between the Senate Executive Board and administration members.
Reitman said the administration looks forward to receiving recommendations from the Alcohol Task Force, which was chartered by the administration and includes students, to guide a steering committee in further evaluating the alcohol policy. As TCU president, Rattiner is one of several student representatives on the Alcohol Task Force and the only student on the steering committee.
Rattiner supported the university's intentions in creating the new policy and said he is hopeful the administration will solicit more student opinion going forward. "I do have 100 percent faith in the intentions and actions of the people I've spoken with," he said. "I know for a fact that they really are committed to involving the students."
Scarano agreed that students will play an even more involved role this year. "I'm pretty confident that there will be student involvement, because this year's Senate seems so heavily involved and interested in the issue," she said. "It's definitely a Senate priority, and we'll make sure student input is heard loud and clear."
Reitman said that the administration is committed to involving students in decisions about other major events going forward, including Winter Bash and Spring Fling.
