Brown University - Ultimate Illegal Drinking Party Haven?

Brown University is recognized as a university party haven. What Brown University really represent is the height of irresponsibility by allowing such parties to occur on campus using a university building (not fraternity or sorority owned buildings) to host their twice a year party known as SexPowerGod, Starf*ck and Spring Weekend. The biggest campus social event of the fall is the annual SexPowerGod dance, sponsored by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Alliance and advertised with dining-hall displays (and here) depicting pairs of naked men or women. Nice incentives to come, huh? These types of party bring out nearly everybody, including those who are straight. It's not a homosexual issue or transgendered, it's the university's irresponsible action to allow such public parties in campus buildings such as Sayles Hall and not stop drunk students from entering the premise.

But what's kind of amazing is that B.U. founded Brown EMS:

Brown EMS was founded in 1978, and provides advanced life support service and a single ambulance to the Brown community. It has a paid staff of five supervisors, as well as 120 student volunteers, working three daily shifts in the morning, afternoon and night, according to Lapierre.

They cover not only party incidents but sports injuries, falls, chronic illnesses, diabetic emergencies, people feeling sick, major trauma and occasional cardiac emergencies. Still it doesn't excuse the fact that parties do go on in colleges and universities filled with drunken idiots.

"If kegs come back to campus, yeah, we're going to have a problem," Lapierre said of the proposed Undergraduate Council of Students initiative to lift the ban on kegs.

While statistics by year of graduation are not kept, based on his 10 years on the job, Lapierre said "a large percentage of your alcohol calls, the majority, are freshmen." He added: "I don't think seniors drink any less than freshmen. But they learn to handle it better."Mark agreed, noting that very few students are treated more than once for alcohol poisoning. "It's a learning curve thing," he said.

This may sound alright, however, events like SexPowerGod is held in Sayles hall (wait for loading to view 360 degrees), a very old, prestigious building. It is not a dormitory but a building with a rich history where numerous tasteful parties, concerts, ballroom dancing, swing events and of course the well known SexPowerGod mass orgy party event that is held every year there where many students, presumably underaged, are already drunk.

No alcohol are permitted to be sold on the premises of Sayles Hall, of course, but instead like what every good college students do is get drunk before coming to the SexPowerGod (et al) party to help shed their inhibition.

Members of Brown Emergency Medical Services once found a girl passed out with her head in a toilet. Her face was less than an inch from the vomit-filled water. If her shoulders had been a little narrower, or the toilet bowl a little wider, she would have drowned."We've had a lot of close calls," said Richard Lapierre, manager of Emergency Medical Services. But to his knowledge there have been no alcohol-related deaths at Brown.

Whew! No alchol-related deaths at B.U. Doncha think that such an attractive party helps students premeditate on the massive amount of alcoholic drinking prior to attending? Wouldn't most of them be under the age of 21? Somehow I don't think ballroom dancing or swing clubs actually encourage pre-drinking drunkards to attend these tasteful events at Sayles Hall. Nor did these event organizers try and stop drunk students from entering, either.

Flores said many party-goers felt they had to be inebriated to comfortably attend the event.

....

Flores said event organizers did not prevent students who were obviously under the influence of drugs or alcohol from entering the party. “What regulated the party was solely the ticket - if you had a ticket you could get in, if you didn’t, you couldn’t come in,” he said.

But when you read statistics that nearly 25 percent of all EMS calls are alcohol-related, do they not at all raise red flags about the drinking problem and especially those caught and disciplined by the university for alcohol violations? The drinking age at Rhode Island where Brown University is located is age 21. The real alarm is that students' age range from 18 to 21 years old starting with freshman to senior undergraduate students where they make up 75% of the students' population? And yet nearly 25 percent of all EMS calls are alcohol-related? See the picture? Yet around 100 - 150 students (ie mostly undergraduates I would guess since they tend to be more irresponsible than graduate students wouldn't you say?) are disciplined for alcohol violations each year. And yet no arrests or explusions for under-age drinking at Brown University ever occurred? Isn't under-age drinking unlawful?

It is unlawful for individuals who have not attained the age of 21 to purchase, possess, or consume alcoholic beverages. It is also unlawful to deliver alcoholic beverages to a person under the age of 21, or misrepresent oneself as having attained the age of 21 to procure alcoholic beverages. There are no exceptions to these laws that are applicable to members of the Brown University community.

Brown University students are expected to comply with all federal, state, and local laws pertaining to alcohol. The illegal possession, use, provision, sale, or possession with the intent to sell alcohol is prohibited by University regulations. Students seeking to sponsor activities where alcoholic beverages are to be served must have all required University approvals and abide by established University procedures.

Similarly, Brown University employees are expected to comply with all federal, state, and local laws pertaining to alcohol.

Why wouldn't Brown University expel students who break the underage drinking law? Well, considering that it cost each student about $45,000 per year to attend Brown University, and if around 100 undergraduates are expelled for alcohol violation for underage drinking, then this would mean throwing out about $4.5 million dollars a year. Sounds like a good excuse NOT to expel those students. Some things are best be kept secret at the university level and a slap on the wrist is good enough. Plus add a good alcohol re-education program would be the best thing there is ljust ike what Dr. Dwight B. Heath proposed.

Dr. Dwight B. Heath of Brown University believes that the drinking age ought to be lowered and that the education on alcohol can be taught hoping students will eventually drink responsibly. Hoping? How about removing the incentives to drink instead?

Incredibly, the Undergraduate Council of Students of Brown University attempted earlier this year to lift the ban on kegs and instead regulate their use on campus. They list their pros as to why kegs should be allowed. One example was that it is more "environmentally friendly" to have kegs compared to mounds of aluminum cans expelled all over the campus lawns. But haven't B.U. heard of a concept called "dry campus" or "dry dorms"? Some students do not agree with this idea while other students do agree. However, Gallaudet University students have enjoyed their dry dorms for the last several years on their right to have a conducive place to live and study where deaf students no longer have to deal with vomits on dormitory stairwells, inside elevators, in shower rooms, on sidewalks and passed out deaf-retard students laying in their own vomits in the lounge rooms in dormitory halls at 9 AM in the morning where they deserve a swift kick in the head for their idiocy.


Hat Tip: Bill O'Reilly - well, don't blame Bill, blame Brown University and the event organizers for their stupidity that was wanting on it getting reported. Now, it's national news.