Stricter alcohol law enforcement a mistake

By Cristina Halliburton     10/21/10 7:00pm

One of the reasons Rice is so appealing to prospective students is its reputation for having one of the happiest student bodies on a university campus. From my experiences here this rating is accurate. Two things we do very well is work hard and party hard; the Rice University Police department and the alcohol policy have allowed us to do this safely within our hedges. RUPD is a great resource for our student body and is always available when needed. The Rice alcohol policy regards us as adults by limiting us to the state laws of Texas while giving us more freedom than other universities' policies. Resident associates at other universities raid rooms in search of alcohol to confiscate; RAs and masters at Rice are our friends, people we look up to and lean on for help or and our family away from home.

The alcohol policy at Rice allows for these special relationships by maintaining a reasonable level of privacy and trust when it comes to students and alcohol. Students' rooms are not searched for alcohol, unless otherwise provoked, and those who are of the legal age are allowed to drink outside of the confines of their dorm rooms. This aspect of the policy is something that most of the student body appreciates, but this year, as a senior, I'm noticing some changes.

A few weekends ago at a public party, I personally witnessed RUPD officers seek out students to ticket. These were not students who were endangering themselves or others. These were not students who were behaving belligerently or getting sick in public. These were simply students entering the party, no alcohol in hand, who were being questioned at random. This did not seem right to me.

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I have had conversations with Officer Thomas Hudak about RUPD's role on campus and he explained it to me in simple terms: RUPD is here to make sure students are safe, not to get students in trouble. If that is their main role on campus and that is their responsibilityto the students, I would say they weren't successfully fulfilling their roles this weekend. They stepped out of bounds and abused their power and their relationship with us as students. One officer even wrote the same student two tickets within a 30-minute period even though the student was neither holding a drink or breaking any "public" drinking rules. This display of RUPD behavior disappointed me greatly and makes me worry for the future of Rice students as well as the possible deterioration of the friendly relationship between the student body and RUPD.

In the past, RUPD has been viewed as people we can trust, but they might soon become people we will choose to avoid in certain situations or even learn to fear. This fear could lead to more off-campus drinking, resulting in higher risk of students making the choice to drink and drive. Another consequence of this relationship turning sour could be a decrease in EMS calls due to students' fear of RUPD involvement.

If we are experiencing this threat of spoiling our relationship with RUPD and the privacy and privileges allotted to us by the Rice alcohol policy, what's next? The honor code? RUPD needs to reevaluate their role on campus, get all their officers on the same page and remember who they are dealing with: These are Rice students, not hoodlums! These students work hard - five, six, maybe even seven days a week - and are simply trying to relax and have some fun on a Saturday night. I hope freshmen and new students will be able to continue enjoying the same respect and freedom I enjoyed during my time at Rice, granting them the right to fully experience the happiness Rice has promised them as a student body.

Cristina Halliburton is a Hanszen College senior.

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