New dean should come with new solutions

By Brian Ross

Kimberly Gilkey, the new dean for off-campus student life, will certainly have her work cut out for her in the fall.

The environment of the off-campus community has been brewing a potentially catastrophic accident over the past few years, and it is only a matter of time before something terrible happens. I call on Gilkey to think creatively when it comes to protecting students who socialize off campus.

A strict enforcement of the student code of conduct will not work.

By aggressively enforcing these rules, the partying is pushed further off campus and therefore further from the view of Campus Safety and Emergency Medical Technicians. While they don't hold authority in these areas, Campus Safety officers can still patrol the perimeter of campus and call the Santa Clara Police Department when things get out of hand.

To tell you the truth, I'd prefer it if students who chose to socialize with alcohol never left campus.

However, the aggressive enforcement of alcohol-related rules in some residence halls and the lack of attractive over-21 programming on campus work to push students off campus.

I see two solutions to this problem.

On one hand, the university can put itself in the business of controlling off-campus parties.

In order to do this, many schools are now offering "party registration" to off-campus residents.

The idea is that every house is allotted a certain number of parties each year. In exchange for following a set of safety procedures -- such as hiring security and wrist-banding those that are over 21 -- hosts get a "free pass" from local police for their registered party.

In this scenario, the police are happy because they know that the party is being controlled by a licensed security service, the neighbors are happy because they know that they can only be disturbed by the same house once or twice during the year and the hosts are happy because, if they follow the rules, they are immune from hefty fines for noise violations and serving alcohol to minors.

The second alternative is for the university to provide alcohol-related entertainment on campus.

No one enjoys the mile-long lines around a keg at one of the off-campus parties. Sure, the beer is free, but it's usually room temperature Keystone. Senior beer and wine nights are a huge hit, and I think we can play on that theme to bring the party back onto campus.

Make beer cheap. Provide entertainment. Hire security. Mix it up. The Bronco doesn't have to be the only place we do events.

Why can't Santa Clara use the excess property it owns around the outskirts of campus to work with a developer on a bar that is 18 and over, serves alcohol and isn't a rat trap? It would be a win-win situation.

Even The Hut is a dangerous accident waiting to happen. Sexual harassment is rampant, the bouncers start fights with patrons and alcohol is often served until a customer can barely walk on their own. The other bars around campus aren't much better.

The off-campus party scene exists because the university provides no real alcohol-related entertainment of its own, and the nightlife in the City of Santa Clara is practically non-existent.

I sincerely hope the new dean looks at student safety and well-being with a fresh perspective and addresses the problems creatively, rather than just dropping the book on those seeking out a good time in college.

After all, isn't college supposed to be the most fun time of your life?

Brian Ross is a senior finance major.