As the semester draws to a close and finals approach, many students will try to balance holiday parties and end-of-the-semester celebrations with their academic work this weekend.
The Bowdoin administration wants to ensure that students have a safe and healthy end of the semester without any major incidents.
So far this semester, there have been 14 alcohol- or drug-related hospital transportations, up from last year's eight transportations at end of the semester. The number of transportations is evenly split between seven females and seven males. It was evenly split last year as well.
Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols said that he was not worried about the increase in hospital transportations because he believes it could be a result of more students reporting dangerous situations and concerns, rather than more cases.
"Most of [the transportations] were precautionary or they were emergency room visits of quite a short duration thankfully. I don't think this year that we have had any students admitted to the hospital," said Nichols. "They are intoxicated to the point that we feel they need a medical assessment to make sure they are OK...We don't know their medical history, so we usually bear on the side of caution. They usually get fluids and monitoring and rest by trained staff."
There have been 150 students who have received liquor violations so far this semester. This number is slightly down from last year's 187 student violations, but the number could go up during the remainder of the semester.
The statistics are slightly deceiving, said Nichols, because they are the number of students receiving violations, and several students could receive violations just from one event. As for events, there have been 19 alcohol policy violations.
There have also been 15 alcohol law violations, which occur on public property. Most of these law violations are handled by Bowdoin Security, not the Brunswick Police Department.
Students might notice more stringent student identification checking this weekend and next semester.
Director of Residential Life Mary Pat McMahon wrote in an e-mail to the Orient that this is due to "recent issues with other (non-Bowdoin) College students causing problems in residence halls and at College House events, juveniles causing problems on campus, and non-students being involved in recent thefts at parties and elsewhere."
"Non-public student events should only be attended by Bowdoin students and their guests. IDing students at the door is an important component of a event host's responsibility," wrote McMahon.
Students should be cooperative with this process in order to ensure that Bowdoin parties run safely and smoothly.
"We urge students to err on the side of caution and call if they are concerned about anyone," wrote Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster in an e-mail to the Orient. "The Bowdoin culture is one where people look out for one another; they step up and intervene when they are worried about someone or see a situation that isn't right. This is so very important and makes all the difference."