The number of GW students who have gotten into various kinds of trouble because of alcohol seems to have risen to unprecedented levels this year. From fraternity parties that serve alcohol in violation of University regulations to freshmen who go off campus to drink themselves into life-threatening stupors, the run-ins with alcohol seem to be a continuous stream, not just a few isolated incidents.
The University has been hard-pressed to come up with a way to deal with underage and reckless drinking before GW is faced with events like the alcohol-related deaths that happened on other campuses last year. But the University has overstretched its disciplinary jurisdiction with some of its recent actions.
The University can choose to bring disciplinary charges against students for any criminal activity they are engaged in no matter how far away from GW they are when it happens. All GW needs to bring up charges on students is knowledge of what happened.
Lulu’s, a popular club a few blocks from GW’s campus, recently was raided by members of the Metropolitan Police Department. Several GW students were arrested for underage drinking and possession of fake IDs. In addition to the charges they face for violating District laws, these students also face charges for violating University policies.
But far more pressing is the underage drinking that occurs on campus – students drinking in their residence hall rooms with no regard for their health or safety. Before administrators begin to punish students who already have faced the District authorities, they should find a way to prevent dangerous levels of underage drinking where they have real authority: on campus.
While GW must act against underage drinking, the solution is not to have students brought up on two sets of charges – one by D.C. and one by GW. Students are much more likely to learn their lesson by spending some time being processed by D.C.’s judicial services then by sitting in a GW “Time Out” program. GW should begin by tackling a problem it can solve – reckless drinking that happens in residence hall rooms.
