UH cracking down on crime, drinking

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

University of Hawai'i-Manoa chancellor Peter Englert has ordered a "complete overhaul" of the campus security system as part of broad new policies being implemented this fall to curb underage and excessive drinking and improve security for women.

Several programs will lay the groundwork for better alcohol control, from an alcohol education program to alternative late-night activities each weekend to give students something to do.

They will be backed up by tough policies that will require notification of parents of significant violations of dorm alcohol policies by their students and a "three-strikes" rule for alcohol and other rules violations that could result in expulsion from the dorms.

"I'm glad to hear they're going to get serious about this," said Dr. Theresa Wee, president of Parents and Friends of UH-Manoa, who had two children at UH this year and has two more in high school. "I'm glad they're going to follow through."

The new measures were prompted by an increasing number of incidents of alcohol poisoning on campus this year, as well as a number of sexual assaults that have heightened the call for better security. A community/campus task force meeting since January made 19 recommendations to improve security and cut down on drinking, and Englert is moving on all of them. Wee was among the members of the task force.

Final details on the "three- strikes" initiative are still being discussed, but it's expected to be ready for fall.

University attorneys have told administrators that it's legal for the university to notify parents of significant violations of dorm alcohol policy by their child that require discipline. As part of that policy, students living in the dorms will be required to sign an authorization for such notification.

"Parents do have the right to understand what their minors are doing so they can potentially influence them," Englert said.

Graduate student Ellen Heid, a candidate for a master's degree in social work, said it's important to provide treatment, not punitive action.

"It's a treatment issue, not a 'throw people out' issue," said Heid, 37. "To me, alcohol and drugs are illnesses. They need to institute a treatment program for alcohol and drugs rather than kicking people out."

Ron Cambra, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and executive assistant to the chancellor, said a new alcohol counselor/educator will be hired and will provide mandatory counseling for students after a first strike.

"If you get caught you'll go through a program and hopefully we save your life," said Cambra, who has been a key member of the broad-based community/campus task force.

Englert said the school needs to respond with guidance, and the new counselor will offer that.

"Most students come into drinking age while they're with us," he said. "There's a responsibility on our side to provide information and guide students."

The campus will also hire a student housing conduct coordinator and a coordinator for an office for late-night weekend activities. An estimated $350,000 is expected to cover the cost of the three positions as well as implementing some of the policies to curb alcohol abuse.

The cost of additional security forces is not included in that estimate, nor is the cost of putting a 24-hour medical presence at the dorms for emergencies, which Englert expects to implement, although perhaps not immediately.

Plans also call for segregating dorms by age, specifically by making Hale Noelani a dorm for those under 21, and Hale Wainani the dorm for those 21 and older, where alcohol would be allowed.

But along with allowing alcohol in the latter areas, Englert said there will be policies to establish certain "environmental controls," including such things as how many students are allowed in a dorm room at one time.

"That's a safety issue," said Englert, who noted that administrative staff discovered a room crammed with more than 50 people during one late-night walk around campus.

He also said that students 21 and older who provide alcohol to minors will be disciplined.

The university has decided against alcohol prohibition on campus for practical reasons, he said.

"If we would have a general prohibition, we would drive all of these things into the underground where it's more difficult for us to understand what's going on."

In his final action on task force recommendations, Englert expects to appoint a new campus/community task force to continue to oversee these issues, and to assess what is working and what is not.

Wee, president of the Parents and Friends, encouraged him to appoint parents to the new group.

"We're sort of outsiders looking in and that's great," she said.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.