Ivy League college bans liquor from campus in effort to curb sexual assault
US colleges and considering new policies to reduce assaults
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dartmouth College last week revealed that it will be banning hard liquor from campus, becoming the latest US school to make a policy change in an effort to cut back on party culture and sexual assaults.
The Ivy League school is also attempting to reform its fraternities, which have a long and boisterous history that has led to some recent bad press for Dartmouth, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Dartmouth’s ban, along with similar policies at schools like Brown University and the University of Virginia, among others, are in a response to an increase in sexual assault cases on US college campuses.
The University of Virginia was thrust under the spotlight when a Rolling Stone article published last fall described, in detail, the brutal gang rape of a female student at a fraternity event. The story was later disproved, but it hasn’t stopped universities from going on the offensive to try and curtail binge drinking and sexual assaults.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that each year 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die alcohol-related deaths and about 97,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault in the US.
Dartmouth’s ban goes into effect March 30 and includes any liquor higher than 30 per cent proof. The new policies also require bouncers and bartenders at all college-related social events and will include a code of conduct to guide student behaviour.
All student organizations will undergo annual reviews to ensure the groups are following the code of conduct. Dartmouth has created a task force to oversee the changes.
Follow Payton Guion on Twitter @PaytonGuion.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments