'Thie‘ Pen'duliim
Thursday,'September 1Si,)l9e3
New drinking laws, regulations
Continued from page 1
his blood, upon conviction, will
lose his license until he is 18 or
for a minimum of 45 days,
whichever is greater. Minors
who attempt to buy beer or
wine and are caught and those
who help minors do so will lose
their licenses for a year.
Civil liability is imposed on
certain sellers of alcohol. This
section of the law is called the
“dramshop law.” It clearly
allows someone injured in an
accident caused by a youthful
drunken driver to sue and re
cover damages from the bar or
store that sold alcohol to the
drunken driver.
It applies if the sale made by
that store created the impair
ment that in turn led to the
accident. The dramshop law is
designed to discourage bars
and stores from selling alcoho
lic beverages to youths under
19 by holding a financial threat
over them.
In addition, police can set up
roadblocks specifically to
check for drunken drivers.
Because of the changes in the
state drinking laws and driving
while impaired, Elon College
revised its alcoholic beverage
rule, effective Sept. 1. As in
years past, there will be no
public consumption of alcoho
lic beverages anywhere on
campus, with the exception of
residence hall rooms. Any
violator of this rule will be
penalized. Also added to this
rule is a statement prohibiting
the possession and/or con
sumption of alcoholic bever
ages on campus or at a campus
event by students less than 19
years old.
Dean of Student Affairs Wil
liam G. Long said that it would
be easier to enforce the pro
hibition on 18-year-old drink
ing a month before it becomes a
state law.
He said, “This way is less dis
ruptive, less disturbing than to
yank it away. Many of the out-
of-state students, especially
from Virginia, are used to the
drinking laws of 19. It doesn’t
have anything to do with what
students do off campus.”
Addressing the question of
enforcement. Long said, “This
issue will be enforced like any
thing else is. If someone comes
across a violation, it will be
dealt with. People are afraid
we will haunt fraternity houses
but that is not the case.”
He added, “We are not in
terested in the business of en
trapment or setting people up;
that’s no way to treat people.”
Long maintained that not
enough attention is being given
to the penalties associated
with a DWI. “That’s what wor
ries me,” Long said. “I hope
people start thinking about
their own private drinking
habits and what happens when
they drive drunk.”
A new policy found on page
23 of the 1983-M Student Hand
book reads: “No party, formal
or informal, planned or spon
taneous, involving the use of
alcoholic beverages may be
held in any individual stu
dent’s residence hall room or
combination of rooms that are
owned or controlled by the col
lege.”
The handbook goes on to de
fine a party as any group larger
than six, except for the new
dorm suites which house eight
or six persons, making the limit
there 16 in an eight-person
suite and 12 in a six-person
suite.
This policy includes the col
lege-owned fraternity and
sorority houses whose housing
contracts state that no parties
involving the use of alcoholic
beverages may be held in the
house or on the premises.
“There has never been an
approved drinking party on
this campus,” Long insisted.
“That’s not new; new is the leg
al drinking age 19. For years,
we’ve asked that drinking not
be advertised with slogans
such as ‘all you can drink’ be
cause that certainly isn’t tap
water.”
“Because the liability ques
tion is a big gray area,” he con
tinued, “we’ve asked organiza
tions not to make a profit off
selling alcohol. We just want
parties to be reasonable until
we can get possible liability
matters straight. We haven’t
had enough time to deal with
the ramifications of the law.”
On the subject of liability,
college attorney Bob Baxter
Students react
Jumped from page 1
Kennedy, from Cleveland,
Ohio, “You are drinking
yourself; nobody is forcing it
down your throat.”
Karen Drake, a 20-year-old
junior from New Jersey, said,
“Individuals should be perso
nally responsible for them
selves. It’s not fair for some
body to be responsible for
someone else’s mistakes.”
Many students feel that the
rules prohibiting organiza
tions from having events in
volving alcohol will hurt the so
cial life, mainly Greek life
tremendously. Junior Cyndi
Lawson said that the law was
“passed because of problems
with high school students, but
it’s hurting college students.”
The school is “not being
realistic,” said Doug Surratt, a
24-year-old senior. “They (the
state) are trying to keep people
off the roads, and the school is
pushing people off campus and
onto the roads.” By not allow
ing functions with alcohol to be
held on campus, he said, stu
dents will have to drive back to
campus to their apartment or
dorm room instead of already
being on campus and within
walking distance.
Surratt argued that functions
on campus “can be controlled”
by doing such things as check
ing ID’S and not having parties
open to everyone.
Although many people here
do not favor the new college
CORRECTION
The Pendulum last week in
correctly gave the date of
N.C. PIRG’S Open House as
Sept. 12. The correct date is
Sept. 20, 2 p.m. in the Listen
ing Room of the Student Cen
ter. There will be a film with
munchios provided. Every
one is welcome.
said, “If we don’t do something
to comply with the new Safe
Roads Act, the college will be
liable. This new law imposes a
great deal of liability not only
on people under 19 who try to
possess alcohol, but also any
one who tries to assist in the
purchase or possession of alco
holic beverages.”
Baxter said that the college
wants to make sure students
are aware of the severity of the
law. “It’d be a shame to have
someone convicted and say
‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ If we
do everything possible to in
form them, then there’s not
much else we can do. Students
need to know the law before
they violate it.”
Both Long and Baxter main
tain that what people do on a
private basis — that is, their
activities not sponsored by a
group — is like being at home.
“Nobody’s liable for someone
drinking alone in the dorm,”
said Baxter. “Drinking in your
dorm is like drinking in your
house. If you’re of age, it’s o.k.”
Long said that now that the
drinking age has been raised to
19, “We are in a different race
to regulate how people con
sume alcohol. If people just
concentrate on the effect it has
on parties, they’re missing the
main point.
“We aren’t singling out the
Greeks. Every organization has
responsibility.”. Under the
new rules. Long said, events
like rush and open house won’t
be “killed,” only ‘“modified.”
He continued, “Last year the
Safe Roads Act had not been
passed, so people didn’t have
the chance to sue a provider or
a seller of alcohol. Because
Elon College is chartered
under the state of North Caroli-
na, we must adapt to the
changes of the state laws. If stu
dents existed only to drink,
then it’s a poor existence. The
Greeks exist for many reasons,
and I hope they discover that
people learn how to adapt.”
“The Safe Roads Act is 34
pages long, single-spaced —
and that’s longer than the U.S.
Constitution,” Baxter pointed
out. “It’s almost too much to
digest. I think it (the Act) will
cut down on drunk driving be
cause the penalties are stifTer
to the point of confiscating
your automobile under certain
circumstances.
“There’s no plea bargaining,
so I think it’ll turn some people
loose. A jury will probably find
a man with nine kids on wel
fare innocent.”
Today Long and Baxter will
attend a conference at Duke
University on the ramifica
tions of the new law, sponsored
by the N.C. Association of Pri
vate Colleges and Universities.
rules, they seem to feel that the
North Carolina laws are for the
better. Even if they think that
the new situation is ridiculous
and unfair, there is really not
much they can do about it.
As Cyndi Lawson said, “It’s
something we’ll have to get
used to.”
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