Georgetown students presented plans to increase on-campus events and responsible drinking at the Sept. 30 meeting of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Georgetown’s local community board.
The students went before the Commission to demonstrate to the community that students are genuinely trying to discourage alcohol abuse and the harms to the neighborhood that come with it, according to ANC commissioner Mike Glick (COL ‘05).
According to presenter and FRIENDS representative Eric Lashner (COL ‘05), their goal is to create more on-campus events like Hoyapalooza and Traditions Day that aim to foster a sense of student community and draw partyers back onto campus.
“I think that a lot of the FRIENDS projects encourage ownership of campus, a philosophy of responsibility, and encourage students to take pride in their campus within Healy Gates,” said Glick.
ANC chairman Tom Birch was very happy that the students chose to share their proposals with the Commission. “I was very impressed with the effort that went into creating a program with such variety and creativity,” he said, “I feel that there’s a revelation on the part of the administration and students that community relations are very important.”
While the ANC has no say in the planning of campus events, the presentations were an opportunity, according to Glick, to show off student achievements. “It’s sometimes hard for members of the community to see the positive side of campus projects,” he said.
FRIENDS member Lindsay Moilanen (SFS ‘05) thought that the reaction by the ANC was generally positive. “We were trying to tell them that not all Georgetown kids think it’s OK to be running around the neighborhood drunk at 3 a.m.,” she said.
It is unclear whether the presentation before the ANC will have any effect on the University’s pending decision on a specific portion of the FRIENDS proposal to revamp Georgetown’s on-campus alcohol policy; the ANC has no binding authority over university policy.
The proposal, which, according Moilanen, was also well received by the Commission, would seek to put more of the responsibility for alcohol abuse on students. A decision on that by the University’s Disciplinary Review Committee will probably not come until spring, and the presentation at the ANC meeting will, in Moilanen’s opinion, probably have a negligible effect.
“I don’t think that it would hurt, but I don’t think it would make or break it,” she said.
