Representatives at the Student Government Association (SGA) meeting Sunday, September 12 were curious to learn about the implementation of the new hard alcohol policy and its effect on students thus far. Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students James Terhune invited students to raise a variety of concerns during the meeting, yet the ban and its aftermath remained the focus of discussion throughout the night.

Terhune reported that the College sent eight students to the hospital this past Loudness weekend and that six or seven hospitalizations were specifically related to alcohol consumption. "I'm not surprised that we've seen what we saw this weekend," Terhune said, stating that eight students were hospitalized during the same weekend last fall.

However, Terhune reminded students that "every documented hospitalization we've had since we've been keeping track is related to hard alcohol," and it is important for students who choose to drink to avoid the rapid consumption of hard alcohol in order to stay safe. "We're not talking about people having a couple too many drinks, we're talking about people drinking to the point that their life is at risk," he said.

Overall, the implementation of the ban should encourage students to say "'"¦we're not going to drink this way, we're not going to let our friends drink this way,'" Terhune said.

The SGA also passed several other motions, including one to grant the Colby Contra Dance group official club status on campus.
However, the evening did not run without hitches, as representatives experienced some difficulty following the standard voting procedures under the direction of the new leadership.

Toward the end of the meeting, representatives raised other ideas and concerns that they had brainstormed over the summer or touched upon last spring. Junior Class President Laura Maloney '12 discussed introducing a Redbox machine or other form of video rental service in Pulver, an idea which Associate Dean of Students and Director Campus Life Jed Wartman met with enthusiasm. "If there's a demand, absolutely," he said.

Piper Dorm President Andy Estrada '12 noted that some of his residents planned to paint the walls in their rooms, which garnered discussion among representatives regarding how Physical Plant Department (PPD) plans to respond to this policy.

However, "PPD's perspective on this is [that] the policy is one cannot paint their room," given the "concern that the walls start to get thicker over the years with each coat of paint, which could raise "structural challenges," Wartman said.

On a similar note, Junior Class President Tracey Tomlinson '12 is trying to expand PPD's "strict color palette" to brighten up common rooms around campus. She and other students are "trying to decorate more dorms over JanPlan and the beginning of next semester," and have already placed artwork in the Woodman and Drummond common rooms.