There were 149 alcohol-related disciplinary actions, one alcohol-related arrest, and seven forcible sex offences on campus during the 2011 calendar year, according to the Annual Clery Campus Crime Reports, released on October 2.
Bowdoin had the third-highest frequency of alcohol violations among all NESCAC schools in that time period, trailing Wesleyan University and Trinity College, with 382 and 176 violations respectively. Most liquor law violations involve the underage consumption of alcohol.
Bowdoin also shares the third spot with Williams for the highest reported number of forcible sexual assaults, with seven reported assaults, the same number as in 2010.
The statistics for the 2012 calendar year are largely similar to those from 2011 thus far, according to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. The College has thus far documented 143 liquor law violations and 23 drug law violations in 2012. There were 40 drug violations in 2011.
The College must release the annual report in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998. The report does not include records of bike thefts, larceny and mild misdemeanors, all frequent occurrences on campus. The numbers reflect only violations of Maine law that occurred on College property or in public areas directly adjacent to campus. Offenses occurring at privately owned off campus residences are not recorded, nor are offenses that violate only College policy and not Maine law.
Nichols said that students should be aware that legal enforcement varies between schools. Informal warnings are not included in the Clery Report’s statistics.
“Our alcohol transports are usually the lowest in the NESCAC. Does that necessarily equate to the number of alcohol violations we’re seeing on campus? I don’t know,” Nichols said. “You might find another campus that has a low number of violations cited, but have significantly higher alcohol transports.”
Nichols also said he does not feel the Clery Report reflects the total number of forcible sexual assaults on college campuses.
“We can only report what comes to our knowledge,” Nichols said. “Sexual assaults are among the most underreported crimes.”
Bowdoin does include anonymous reports of sexual assaults in the Clery Report.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article mistakenly reported that the Clery Report does not report crimes that occur off-campus. In fact, the report does include violations that occur on or near College-owned off-campus property. The online version has been updated to correct this inaccuracy. An earlier headline incorrectly stated that there were 149 on-campus alcohol offenses in 2011. This figure did not include one arrest made on campus. The online headline has been corrected to account for this mistake.