Sauce, booze, aqua vitae, alcohol… call it what you will, but that won’t make them bring it back.
With the arrival of the double-cohort, universities across Ontario are preparing for an onslaught of eager first-year students. According to the Council of Ontario Universities, the double-cohort translates into an estimated “33,500 additional secondary school students applying to Ontario universities.” But the most prominent concern during next year’s Frosh Week may well be how the university has prepared for the large percentage of underage students that will be flooding the residences.
U of T is licensed to serve liquor. Students’ Administrative Council (SAC) President Rocco Kusi-Achampong identified two main liability concerns for U of T. The first is a parent’s right to take legal action against the university if it fails to enforce the restrictions outlined in the Liquor Licence Act. The second is the loss of the liquor licence if the university abuses it.
U of T is taking action to protect itself. The Office of the Governing Council issued a Campus Alcohol Policy outlining four basic principles to guide colleges in preparation for the arrival of next year’s students.
The policy specifies that “alcohol use is, primarily, the responsibility of the individuals [as] adults.” They will only intervene “when alcohol is used illegally” or when its abuse leads to endangerment or disruption. Intervention will arrive in the form of managing alcohol use on campus in a “way that is consistent with the terms of its licence.” Through the implementation of alcohol awareness programs and server education, the “university [will] take steps to encourage responsible decisions [about] alcohol.”
Based on these principles, each college must protect the university against liability by involving the new students in activites without using alcohol as a lure.
St. Michael’s College is focusing on control rather than encouraging an interest in alternatives. Kirsten Schaefer, the president of St. Michael’s College, regrets to inform the student body that the “Potato & Guinness Day” ($5, all you can drink) will not take place next year, because the college cannot schedule events that concentrate on drinking as the main event. No advertisements can promote the sale of alcohol, and ads for bars must explicitly publicize the need for a valid ID in order to attend.
A controversial proposal put forth by the administration is the creation of an “Off Campus Liquor Licence.” Schaefer described it as an attempt to “control or eliminate off-campus parties” that are associated with St. Mike’s. She believes that this licence will be met with opposition, and will be virtually impossible to enforce.
A full year of sustaining sobriety and self-denial is a difficult task. However, the president of Victoria College, Reem Ismail, offered a fresh glimpse into the sober year ahead. Ismail suggested a shift from nights of shameless self-indulgence to events that centered more on “trying to educate students on alternatives and finding other ways to participate in the community. There are so many other things we should be focused on today than drinking.”
Photograph by Simon Turnbull
