Princeton Borough officials, university students agree on goal of limiting illegal alcohol use, but not on how to do it.
By: Jennifer Potash
Princeton University students and borough officials agree that reducing illegal alcoholic consumption at eating club parties and on campus is a desirable goal.
But the best way to accomplish that goal was the unanswered question at a forum sponsored by the Princeton University Whig-Clio Society held Monday at Whig Hall.
About 50 university students attended the forum.
The Princeton Borough Council has previously considered, and may soon take up again, an ordinance that would authorize borough police to enter private property to enforce underage drinking laws. Under the proposed ordinance, violators could be subject to a $250 fine for the first offense and the loss of driving privileges for six months.
Mayor Marvin Reed and the council want the eating clubs on Prospect Street to take more responsibility in curbing drinking violations.
What needs to be decided, Mayor Reed said Monday night, is whether the existing ordinances are effective enough "to keep individuals from doing damage to themselves and others" or a new ordinance is needed.
Cynthia Drakeman, president of the Inter Club Council, which opposes the ordinance, said the club leadership takes the safety of members and guests very seriously. She said clubs have added more security and club officers routinely check for students who are in need of assistance and call the infirmary.
Adopting the ordinance as is, she said, would serve only to move the drinking into the dorms, which could be more hazardous to the students because they are more isolated there and might not seek help.
She proposed that the eating clubs work with university administration, the borough and the Borough Police Department to develop a better method to deal with underage drinking and intoxicated students.
Incidents of underage and binge drinking at Princeton University have spurred the Borough Council to take another look at the ordinance. Borough police have stepped up enforcement of borough ordinance violations, including having an open container of alcohol in the public right of way and urinating in public, which has resulted in more than 40 citations since the students returned last month.
The eating clubs are privately owned and not part of the Princeton University campus.
One student said the clubs are taking an unfair share of the blame.
"Drinking one or two beers in the clubs is not going to send people to McCosh (infirmary)," she said. "It’s drinking 11 shots of cheap vodka in the dorms."
Police Chief Charles Davall said if the ordinance were to be adopted, the police would enter only if invited or if responding to a medical or public safety emergency like a fire alarm.
"We don’t want to be the bad guys here," he said. "We want to work with the clubs and the students to ensure everybody’s safety."
Gary DeBlasio, executive director of Corner House, which provides drug and substance-abuse counseling, said a focus on helping students with addictions identify and treat their problems would be more effective than a punitive ordinance.
Borough Councilman Roger Martindell agreed and asked the university students to consider whether an ordinance with a mandatory counseling and treatment provision would be more acceptable.
Mr. Martindell added that he has problems with the ordinance from a civil-rights perspective in that police may have too much authority to investigate once inside a private residence.
Also speaking on the panel were Steven Abt, a sophomore who is running for Borough Council, and Patrick Lyons, a member of the Princeton Drug and Alcohol Alliance. Princeton University Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deign and Department of Public Safety Patrol Commander Donald Retelling were unable to attend the forum.

