Several college campuses around the state are enacting stronger liquor control measures in response to growing concerns about the safety of students and their right to privacy. These regulations limit the authority of Liquor Control Enforcement (LCE) to randomly choose students for alcohol testing on weekends. These decisions have been made in response to complaints that these tactics violate students’ rights and unfairly target them while making little to no improvement in campus safety.
LCE officials have previously randomly searched Dickinson campus on weekends to find students who might be under the influence or in violation of Pennsylvania alcohol laws. Nevertheless, this strategy has drawn criticism from advocacy organizations as well as students.
In one incident last November, two female students were stopped by two LCE officials. According to witnesses, the LCE officers all lacked identification and were not wearing uniforms. These witnesses also said that one of the women was under 21 and was carrying a bottle of Buzzballz, an alcoholic drink.
One student who witnessed the event said, “I was scared for my friend, more like terrified because she was handcuffed.” She told The Dickinsonian that bystanders started contacting the Department of Public Safety (DPS) after witnessing these events. She also said the lack of proper identification left the bystanders in a state of panic, as they were unable to determine if the girl being handcuffed was being arrested by law enforcement or by unauthorized individuals posing as law enforcement in an attempt to kidnap her.
George Stroud, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students, stated that LCE officials around campus “should have a vest or shirt that identifies them as a liquor control enforcement officer.” He added, “When in doubt, please politely ask the officer to provide you with their identification.” As colleges are unable to remove LCE officers from college campuses, they must find ways to prevent and deal with college students for consuming alcohol in violation of the law.
Dickinson’s VP & Chief Diversity Officer, Tony Boston, emphasized that the college is taking proactive measures to promote responsible drinking habits among students. “Given the hierarchy of the police chain, there’s nothing we can do to keep them out of our campus because they protect state laws but we have a role to protect our students.”
LCE officials should concentrate on handling individual complaints or occurrences instead of intimidating, interrogating, and handcuffing students. Adopting these procedures would help college campuses for a more effective balance regulation of alcohol with the rights and welfare of their students.
