NEWS FEATURES
Student court to judge campus date rape cases
By Jennifer Wing
■ The Daily Tar Heel
U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
An amendment defining date rape as a campus
offense punishable by the L' of North Carolina. ('hapcl
Hill, Undergraduate Student Court went into effect
this fall despite concerns by student court members
Court Chairwoman Ruth Dowling said she is unsure
if the court is capable of dealing with such a sensitive
issue "I definitely have concerns on whether or not we
can deal with this.'
The amendment was approved bv UNC Chancellor
Paul Hardin, the Student Congress and the Faculty
Council because it provides a different avenue for vic
tims who feel uncomfortable taking the case to civil
court , Dowling said
“If it’s going to allow people a place to go to solve this
thing, then we want to work with this Hut I rn not too
sure if people will come to court with it." she said
Court members are concerned with having the
responsibility ofjudging guilt or innocence. in addition
to sanctioning the parties found guilty
Wilton Hvman, former court chairman, also
expressed concern. "Most of the court 's cases deal with
academic issues, and this will require the court to go
beyond its scope."
He said date rape cases are especially difficult
because of the reverberating effects they can have on
both parties involved “The court really needs to do it
carefully because it's the kind of thing you can’t make
a mistake on." he said
The Rape Awareness Committee, made up of repre
sentaLives from the campus and community, iiacked the■
amendment, saying the court would be qualified to hear
cases after training.
Kathleen Benzaquin, chairwoman of the committee,
said the amendment’s real strength lies in the aware
ness it will arouse and the options it will offer victims
“1 have talked to victims who said if they could have
taken their case to the Undergraduate Court instead
of civil court, they would have done so.” she said.
Robert Byrd, chairman of the Faculty Committee on
Student Conduct, said basicjudicial problems are still
involved in date rape cases, and the court is qualified
to accept this responsibility. “Under the system we
have, we are leaving student disciplinary problems to
be solved under the student court system.”
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Alcohol
Continued from page 1
A student at Brown L\ agrees that
alcohol use is the more common of the
two “Drugs are not widespread. 1 don’t
see them at campus parties.”
At Heed College, students note a sim
ilar trend toward decreased drug use
One said. “The general campus attitude
is changing very much that there should
be more responsibility shown, both by the
administration and the students," She
said that not many students use illegal
drugs, but "a lot of people drink beer on
Friday nights. They get a six-pack and
go to a party"
One reason for the popularity of alco
hol on small campuses, says a Wesleyan
student, is its accessibility "1 just turned
21, and in my four years here, 1 don’t
know if I’ve ever been refused alcohol ”
While the nation continues its conser
vative anti-drug education campaigns,
many smaller liberal arts schools admit
their measures remain liberal.
Weslevan’s Dean of Student Life Denise
Darrigrand said the drinking age is not
strictly enforced by the administration.
I he way Wesleyan lends to view its
drinking age is we treat the students as
adults,” she said. “We let them know
what the issues are, and then they make
their own decisions ”
Iowa’s Grinned College follows a sim
ilar policy of selfgovernance Director of
Student Social Activities Steve Bialek
said the alcohol policy is “an education
process At all-campus parties, where
beer is served, IDs are not checked.
That’s how we operate We inform stu
dents as much as possible, then each stu
dent makes his own choice."
At Dartmouth College, Drugs and
Alcohol Counselor Dr Phil Meilman said
underage drinking “is not specifically a
violation of college policy, but it is a vio
lation of state law "
Sarah Westfall, assistant dean of stu
dents at Carleton College, said their pol
icy is based on the idea that “whatever
you do in your room is your own business
as long as you don’t infringe on the rights
of others."
In contrast to the “hands-ofT alcohol
policies of these small liberal arts col
leges, Westfall said policies at medium
and large universities are tightening.
While Princeton U. Associate Dean of
Students Kathleen Deiganan agrees
with colleagues at smaller schools that
students are adults who should be
allowed to make theirown decisions, she
said, “You are really tom between your
personal beliefs and your legal obliga
tions.’’ She said colleges no longer can
risk such permissive policies because of
the growing number of liability suits.
Princeton's alcohol policy came under
scrutiny after seven students were hos
pitalized during the 1987-88 academic
year, including one who entered an alco
hol-induced coma after a party at a cam
pus eating club.
"The university needs to be able to say
that we have made a reasonable effort
to prevent underage drinking without
interfering with individuals’ rights,”
Deiganan said. She said students are
rarely prevented from consuming alco
hol in their dorm rooms, but purchasing
large quantities of alcohol to serve
underage drinkers is prohibited under
the revised policy.
Deiganan said this change is the result
of New Jersey state laws, which do not
outlaw the consumption of alcohol by
minors in private, but do prohibit the
serving of minors in private.
Princeton and Harvard U. have
banned kegs on campus, although
Harvard’s rule applies only to freshman
dorms. Upperclassmen at Harvard must
use a “beverage authorization team”
made up of graduate students at all par
ties. The team checks IDs and stamps
hands at the door to mark who can drink
In addition, groups may not advertise
their parties if they plan to serve alcohol.
“We have been trying to spend more
time on alcohol abuse,” explained
Associate Dean of Students Tom
Dingman.