Sept. 18

On Stopping Student Drinking, a Salivary Solution?

If you lie about drinking in the dorm at North Idaho College, expect to be caught talking out of both sides of your mouth — by virtue of a little padded strip placed in it.

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The community college has a new, unorthodox policy in place this fall — the use of AlcoScreen Saliva Alcohol Test strips when questions arise about dorm residents’ consumption. North Idaho’s 202-student residence hall and its campus in Coeur d’Alene are dry. On a first alcohol offense, dorm residents pay a $100 fine and are required to undergo a counseling session. On the second, they’re to be evicted from the dorm; six students were removed for alcohol offenses last year.

“It reduces the amount of ambiguity in a situation where our staff members have to confront somebody. Lots of students try to lie to us,” said Eric Murray, North Idaho’s vice president for student services. “They recognize that we’re taking it seriously. We don’t want partying in our residence hall, and we have the means to tell whether they partied or not.”

The vast majority of North Idaho’s more than 4,000 students live off the campus. But, for the minority of students who live in the single dormitory, the college required them to sign a waiver upon checking in this fall. In signing, they acknowledge that they understand the new alcohol testing procedures, and that failure to submit to a saliva test when asked is a violation of college policy.

In short, students may be asked to submit to the salivary test if they’re in the presence of alcohol containers, or if they’re involved in an altercation or assault. In addition, residence life staff — the only ones who can administer the test — can use the strips to assess the (alcohol) content of a cup or container that the student is carrying, assuming that student draws attention for inappropriate or “out of character” behavior.

The waiver stipulates that the test strips will be used only for on-campus disciplinary purposes; results would not, administrators said, be turned over to the cops. The listed goals for using the strips include to “prove the innocence of students that truly are not drinking,” to “help eliminate the ability of students to abuse the appeal process by denying alcohol consumption,” and to “require more accountability of the students.”

“It’s a learning tool, too. It shows the students that they can’t just talk their way out of stuff and there are consequences for their actions,” said Paula Czirr, the residence life manager. Czirr, who used the strips previously while working at North Central Missouri College, said that when confronted, most students will just admit consuming alcohol rather than take the test (though “it’s really a lot easier” to get a confession with the strips as ammunition, Czirr said).

The strips can also be used to confirm innocence, Czirr continued. “We present it as, ‘We want to prove you aren’t drinking if you aren’t.’ “

Austin Folnagy, a North Idaho sophomore and the student body president, said he’s heard no complaints or concerns about the residence hall’s new policy.

However, in a sign that college student drinking is in the news (including North Idaho’s college newspaper) and at the forefront of people’s minds, “We have received some interest from the student body on the Amethyst Initiative,” said Folnagy, in reference to a petition by college presidents calling for “an informed and dispassionate public debate” on the drinking age. “Twenty-one is not working,” the petition states.

Not everyone in North Idaho’s dorm is under 21: Czirr estimates that six students are of age, but, under college policy, can’t drink in the dry dorm. “I’m not [even] allowed to have alcohol in my apartment, and I’m well old enough to drink,” said Czirr, who lives in the residence hall.

There’s one 58-year-old who lives there right now. If circumstances warranted it, would that student be subject to an alcohol test, too?

“I probably would, I probably would test him,” said Czirr, laughing. “It would be awkward, but yeah.”

— Elizabeth Redden

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Comments

just bring back

Let’s just bring back prohibition and “get it over with". Land of the free...

deecee, at 9:00 am EDT on September 18, 2008

A $100 fine and counseling for a first offense. Eviction for a second. Overkill. There are other, more reasonable ways to address this issue with the average college student population.

j. gray, at 9:25 am EDT on September 18, 2008

is this a state school?

Is this a state supported school or private institution? If it’s private, fine, they can do whatever they want, but if this is a state school, prohibiting 21+ age students who live there from drinking seems legally shady, echoes of in loco parentis policies of old. Underage drinking is illegal, and should be discouraged, but over 21, that’s a private decision. Students should be subject to campus discipline and possible eviction for disruptive or violent *behavior*, regardless if said behavior was “under the influence” or if they were stone cold sober and just being an ass in public.

I knew of a campus cop who busted a fellow student at my undergraduate institution for public intoxication; He was sitting on a bench in front of the dorm, smoking a cigarette and not bothering anyone. He had been drinking, perhaps smelled of alcohol. A campus police officer happened to walk by on patrol and asked if the student had been drinking. The student (who was over 21) admitted he had, and took another drag on his cigarette. The officer ordered the student to submit to a field sobriety test (which he failed) and promptly arrested him. Not for peeing in the bushes, or starting a fight, or being too noisy...but for simply sitting there, quietly minding his own business, while having a blood alcohol content above a certain mark.

If the Idaho students are being disruptive while drunk, that, on the other hand, is a legitimate instance of “public intoxication” and should be handed over to the campus police, especially in the case of underage drinkers.

The policy seems a tad bit on the puritanical side. What if a student is horsing around after just having used mouthwash and tests a false positive? Seems like a lot of potential for abuse of the system by university officials.

JJR, at 10:00 am EDT on September 18, 2008

Overboard

As a Res Life professional, this would make my job easier, but at what cost? I would not be comfortable asking my students to do this.

In response to JJR comment about public vs. private. There are a number of public institutions out there who have dry residence halls. Typically only first year student are required to live on-campus, and since most first year students are not 21, the dry building policy shouldn’t be a problem. Students over 21 CHOOSE to live there and do so knowing the policies. If it is that important for them to consume alcohol in their room, they usually find another place to live.

CMF, at 11:05 am EDT on September 18, 2008

What is seemilgly being overlooked in the comments is that the residents of that particular “dry” residence hall choose to reside there voluntarily. Accordingly, the other students who reside there have every right and expectation that the institution take those measures to assure that the residence hall remain dry.

CMF, as a student services professional for over thirty-five years I understand how enforcing this policy might make you uncomfortable. My advice to you would be to enforce all those policies relating to student ife in yur area of responsibility, move on to another institution where the policies are more compatible with your beliefs or to work within the system at your plsce of employment to revise those pollicies that you might disagree with.

H J, at 12:50 pm EDT on September 18, 2008

“DRY” dorm

The critics perhaps missed one point... Yes, perhaps this system is extreme, but this is a “dry” dorm, the only one on campus if I read the article right. If the over 21 students object to being in a dry dorm, they shouldn’t live there. Period.

We academics (and our students) need to stop whining and deal. Just follow the rules. If you don’t like them, work to change them. If you don’t like the rules of a dry dorm, move to a different one, or off campus.

This IS a free country, and that’s exactly why we bear responsibility for our choices.

Voice of reason, at 12:50 pm EDT on September 18, 2008

I don’t understand why people are making such a big deal about this. I dind’t see where it said they weren’t allowed drink off campus. It was just said that they weren’t allowed to drink on campus, and as I understand that is the rule. The students understood that before moving in. All these strips do is help enforce the rule and keep that dorm safe. I know I wouldn’t want the dorm next to me get wild-ass drunk while I was trying to study. They are there for school, not to go get drunk. Way to go Idaho.

In support of the “Suppressers”, at 3:50 pm EDT on September 18, 2008

I think that counseling and $100 fine is minor compared to other institutions in the nation. I’ve worked placed where students are sanctioned to a lot more than only those two things. Sanctions have included random drug testing through a facility... is there a difference with the strips? I think that many people are trying to work from many different angles on a very critical issue with college students. This is just another idea to work to change the culture of alcohol within their students. I rather students be honest with me about their habits and consumption than lie about it and not get them the help that they need.

I think that keeping an open mind to how all universities are working on this issue will lead to some solutions. And every institution is different for good reasons.

Open Mind, at 6:35 pm EDT on September 18, 2008

Collge students be subject to dorm rules!?

The word ‘dry’ means alcohol. If a student wants to go to NIC, then they must abide by the rules of the school. The students are allowed to drink off school property. Students are even allowed to be overly intoxicated in the dorm as long as they do not cause problems. It is in this case that the strips are used, when they become unruly and disrespectful. A student is attending an academic institution to learn. One way that the schools prevent incident in the living quarters of the school is to keep a dry dorm. If the student wants to have a drinking escapade and lose control, if they cannot handle the absence of alcohol in their vicinity then they should not attempt a higher education. It is not acceptable to invade and endanger other student’s safe living and learning environment.

Judah 929, Dry Dorm., at 5:40 pm EDT on September 19, 2008

If this is a dry campus and if the students moving into the dorm are aware of this, then why is it such a big deal for the college to enforce the rules? These students choose to live in the dorms, they could always go off campus and get an apartment. When I was in college, and lived in a dormitory, it was the residence life first responsibility to make sure everyone was safe, from what is in this article it seems to me that North Idaho College is just doing their job. Besides if there are only six or so student of legal drinking age, why would we wont to allow, or encourage students to be drinking in their rooms if underage?

Fran, at 6:45 pm EDT on September 19, 2008

dry dorms

FANTASTIC!!! About time someone helped these kids grow up!

Brilliant news.

clair mayne, at 1:40 pm EDT on September 20, 2008

student drinking

Come on, who cares about the over 50-yr-old adult who should be able to make better decisions, not to mention living in a “campus” environment. With a senior in high school, we are actively searching for schools who STRICTLY inforce no drinking rules. I wished the rules had been more strict at the University of Delaware 25 years ago when I went there...such a loss of potential brain power and positive energy, not to mention potential alchohol abuse in later years. Kids can have fun, in fact MORE funr, without substance abuse.

debi gilson, at 11:40 pm EDT on September 25, 2008

Get real, don’t ask the schools to do the parents job.

Get Real, at 5:35 am EDT on October 16, 2008

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On Stopping Student Drinking, a Salivary Solution?

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Comments

just bring back

is this a state school?

Overboard

“DRY” dorm

Collge students be subject to dorm rules!?

dry dorms

student drinking

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