Alcohol violations in Queen Anne’s, traditionally a substance-free dorm, are leading both students and administration to reevaluate the dorm’s relevancy to student life.
“Over the past couple of years, general interest in substance-free living has declined a great deal,” said Director of Residential Life Carl Crowe.
Nick Gaeto, a Resident Assistant in Queen Anne, said that out of all the students who live on his hall, only two requested to be put in the substance-free dorm. Gaeto said for the rest of the students who live there, the strict no-alcohol policy is seen as unfair.
“They’re being asked to live to a higher standard just by virtue of where they were placed,” said Gaeto.
Crowe acknowledged that a student who does not want to live in a substance-free dorm can still be asked to live there due to spacing issues.
“There are some students who [live] there who may not have specifically requested to be there but that’s where we were able to put them because we have to use every available bed we have on campus,” said Crowe.
Many students consider Queen Anne’s a worst-case last-resort housing scenario.
“I actually requested not to be put in here and they put me in here anyway,” said QA resident freshman Kyle Carlson.
So far this semester there have been four Public Safety citations and two Student Affairs warnings issued in QA.
“One time PS saw an incident because of a window being open and they were walking by. Other times were results of complaints of disruptive behavior from others in the dorm,” said Director of Public Safety Jerry Roderick.
Still, neither Gaeto or Resident Assistant Danyelle Martin think drinking is a problem in QA.
“I don’t think they drink more than other residents. I just think I know more about it and it stands out more because it’s Queen Anne’s,” said Gaeto.
Martin, who is now in her second year being a Resident Assistant in QA, said she likes the dorm’s quiet atmosphere, but she was quick to stress that just because a student lives in QA does not mean he or she does not drink.
“The idea is party elsewhere, let them handle the mess and come home to a clean, quiet dorm,” said Martin.
She added, “We actually had more alcohol-related issues last year than this year. I have not had to talk to any of my residents about drinking this year.”
Some residents in QA feel they are being held to a stricter standard than the rest of campus.
“We shouldn’t be penalized extra for doing the same things as everyone else just because of where we live,” said QA resident freshman Oliver Hegglin.
He is not the only one who thinks so.
Crowe said, “Personally, I don’t like the idea of a substance-free house. I don’t like the concept of having a living environment defined by what you can’t do. I think it might be interesting to re-evaluate QA as something in terms of wellness living. Being substance free would be a component of that but there would more of an emphasis on health and wellness. I think that’s going to give students the opportunity to craft a program with lots of positives they can do as being a part of that community.”
Gaeto thinks that may be a more effective approach.
“Right now, with substance-free, you have a handful of people who wanted to live in a quiet dorm and didn’t want to have to deal with drunk people on Saturday nights. But it’s a pretty small group and once you get above freshmen year, you can get into the newer buildings where you have more privacy anyway. So it kind of becomes a moot point. Wellness living might attract and appeal to more people. It has a more positive aspect rather than a negative aspect,” said Gaeto.
Crowe says the Residence Hall Advancement Team is taking all this into consideration in an ongoing discussion about the future of QA as a substance-free dorm.
“Is QA doing what we want it to do? That’s the question I need to have answered. And if not, what can we do to tweak and the program so it better meets the educational needs of the students and the mission of the college,” said Crowe.
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