Drunken revel at Brown prompts review of school policy

More than 30 drunken students needed medical aid after attending the annual Sex Power God party at Sayles Hall.

BY JENNIFER D. JORDAN
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Brown University is reviewing its policy on student-run events after more than 30 students received medical assistance for intoxication at a party Saturday night that landed the university on national television.

About 20 students were taken to area hospitals and a dozen more students were taken to Brown's Health Services for intoxication after the large on-campus party. It was the highest number of students needing medical attention after a single event at Brown, according to university officials.
Several hundred students attended the Sex Power God party at Sayles Hall, a popular event known for its graphic posters depicting sex acts, which has been hosted by Brown's Queer Alliance since 1986.

Portions of the event were surreptitiously videotaped by a Fox News producer, who said he bought a ticket for the event off the Internet for $80. Scenes depicting partially clad male and female students, many of whom appeared to be intoxicated, aired on Fox's The O'Reilly Factor Monday night.

Saturday night's party followed several fistfights on the campus green and gunshots fired at Brown and Benevolent streets in the early morning hours after a fraternity party Friday night; Brown's public safety department said that no injuries were reported. In addition, residents of nearby Williams Street have complained to the university this fall, saying students throwing loud parties, yelling late at night and fighting in their neighborhood have disrupted their quality of life.

David Greene, vice president of campus life and student services, called the weekend's events "troubling" in an e-mail to Brown's 5,700 undergraduates Sunday night. He said administrators would review university policies for student events "to assess whether there were violations of the university's social function policies and to learn how we might strengthen our efforts to provide a safe environment for students."

"We are doing an investigation right now, so I don't know if any rules were broken or not," Greene said in a phone interview yesterday afternoon. "But we are worried about the health and safety of members of our community, and we need to review the rules we have in place and see if there is proper oversight at student-run events."

The Sex Power God event "has gone on for many years without negative consequences," Greene said. "We had police and security there and a night manager, but most events like this are primarily run by students. One question we should ask is: Can that model be sustained?"

Reports that the event was financed through Brown's student activities fund are false, Greene said. Ticket sales covered most of the cost, with just $100 of the $1,000 rental fee for Sayles Hall coming from the fund.

While alcohol was not served at the Sex Power God party and the Queer Alliance registered the event with the Office of Student Life, as required, university administrators say they are concerned about a growing trend of students drinking at private parties before events, known as "pre-gaming."

BROWN REQUIRES student organizations to receive training on how to manage large events, including keeping a log of students turned away at the door because they are drunk.

Such training has helped Brown's 10 sororities and fraternities run events on campus, said Meghan Gill, a senior who chairs Brown's Greek Council.
"Managing the door is the most important part of a party," said Gill. "You need to keep a log at the door so you know how many people are coming and you write down a name if you turn someone away because they are drunk, just to keep track."
Some students are worried that a crackdown by university officials will drive student drinking underground, not curtail such activity. They also want students to have a say during the review of university policies.

"Students are worried that harsh action would limit student events, and that would be a real shame," said Cash McCracken, a sophomore who heads the student activities committee of the Undergraduate Council of Students. "Students are also worried that there could be a clampdown on the alcohol policy, and we think Brown has the best policy in the Ivy League, because it gives students incentives to call EMS [emergency medical services] without worrying they'll get in trouble."
Greene said protecting students' right to call Brown's EMS without fear of punishment is a priority and will be maintained, even if other policy changes are made.

"We have a system here where students run an awful lot of events on campus and have a lot of responsibility and they go through comprehensive training," Greene said. "But if they don't work well, we can see some pretty risky behavior."
Greene said student representatives would be invited to join administrators and faculty on the review committee that will recommend changes.
NEIGHBORS ON Williams Street who say they are accustomed to living alongside Brown students and have had many positive interactions with them in the past say student drinking is worse this fall, and they have met with university officials to try to address the problem.

Late-night keg parties, yelling in the street, broken vodka bottles and inebriated students urinating in public have accelerated in recent months, said Anne Hersh, who helped form the Residents of Williams Street Association a few months ago.
"I've lived here six years and it's never been as bad as this year," Hersh said. "This is a great neighborhood, with a lot of interesting people, but we just want to be able to sleep at night."

She wants Brown to be more aggressive about cracking down on student drinking and encouraging students who live off campus to be better neighbors, as the University of Rhode Island has done in Narragansett. URI banned alcohol from all campus events several years ago. URI also formed a coalition with police, merchants and community groups in Narragansett, where hundreds of URI students live in off-campus housing, to integrate students into neighborhoods and crack down on large parties.

"We used to have 300 to 400 people going to keg parties," said Fran Cohen, URI's dean of students. "We don't have those anymore."
Salve Regina University in Newport has also worked to smooth out relations with neighborhoods popular with students.

"You can maintain your liberal image and curriculum, but still encourage your students to be respectful of the community at large," Hersh said. "It's time for Brown to host a debate about that subject and evaluate what URI and Narragansett have done."

Greene agrees. "In light of the issues we've had this weekend, we are beginning a review of our alcohol policy. We need to make sure it's consistent."

Brown officials will also discuss the possibility of offering more on-campus housing, Greene said. Usually about 1,200 undergraduates, mostly juniors and seniors, live off campus, although this year there were slightly more, due to an unexpected hike in the number of students, Greene said.

"We take the concerns of the residents of Williams Street very seriously, and it's important to us that our students act as good neighbors," he said. "We are in a non-academic disciplinary process with some of the students, and we are keeping in communication with the neighbors."

Staff writer Jennifer Jordan can be reached at: jjordan@projo.com