A new change to the Residence Hall Handbook now allows 21-year-old students in residence halls to have and consume alcohol in the same room as underage roommates.
According to Residence Life Program and Conduct Coordinator Lindsey Blem, other than that, alteration the new handbook has mostly been reorganized so it is easier to read and understand.
She said every year a committee made up of both staff and students make changes to the handbook and last year the committee decided on this change for a couple reasons.
According to Blem, the main reason was to eliminate any roommate barriers. In recent years, a 21-year-old could not consume alcohol in their room when an underage student was present.
“The last policy before the revision could have potentially caused some rifts with roommates,” said Blem. “We wanted to be realistic and reflect off campus situations.”
Although the change has been made to the handbook, Blem said it still does not make it okay for underage students to consume alcohol with their legal roommates. The policy also applies only to roommates, not neighbors or guests who might visit the room at the time the alcohol is being consumed.
Blem said that Resident Assistants and Campus Public Safety will still be on the lookout for underage students consuming alcohol.
“Noise will be the main reason for an RA or CPS officers to check if there is drinking going on,” said Blem.
She said they will then assess the situation to figure out what’s going on and if underage drinking has occurred.
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