The College saw an increase in drug law violations and decreases in burglaries and liquor law violations in 2013, according to numbers from the Annual Clery Campus Crime Report released early to the Orient. 

The report is released publicly each October, when colleges must report statistics on a set of federally specified crimes that take place on or adjacent to college property. In 2013, Bowdoin reported 157 alcohol law violations, three alcohol related arrests, 51 drug law violations, two burglaries and six sexual assaults. These statistics will be officially submitted in October.  

In 2012, Bowdoin was third-highest in the NESCAC for alcohol-related violations in 2012, behind Wesleyan (604) and Trinity (206). During that calendar year, there were 171 alcohol related disciplinary actions, six alcohol related arrests, 34 drug law violations and four forcible sex offenses on campus.

Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols said that he does not believe the drop in liquor law violations from 2012 to 2013 is significant. 

Nichols also said that the large majority of 2013 drug law violations were for possession of small amounts of marijuana. According to the Orient’s spring 2013 survey on drug use, 58 percent of students have smoked marijuana at least “once to a few times” at the College. This is an 8 percent increase from the Orient’s 2010 survey, a rise that Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster credited to an uptick in marijuana use on college campuses nationwide, according to a February 2013 Orient article.

Nichols said that drug law violations are also already trending upwards for 2014, in large part due to last month’s incident where 12 students were disciplined for buying and selling Adderall.
There are very specific crimes that must be reported under Clery, and Nichols keeps an up-to-date count at all times. However, some crimes that affect the campus community are not included in the report, like drunk driving.

 “Drunk driving is a heck of a lot more serious than walking around in illegal possession of a can of beer, but that counts, the drunk driving doesn’t,” said Nichols. “I don’t know why, that’s just clearly defined in Clery that it does not count. It doesn’t even matter if it happens on campus.”
Starting in October of this year, colleges will be required to report additional statistics regarding domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. These changes come as a result of the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (SaVE).

 Also included in the SaVE Act are criteria for developing procedures for the reporting and investigating of these additional statistics, as well as the development of education and awareness programs. However, exactly how these new policies will affect Bowdoin has yet to be determined.
“There have been a lot of things happening on a federal level related to gender violence and sexual violence,” said Director of Residential Life Meadow Davis. “They are still working on what that actually looks like and how the law is to be interpreted.”

In 2011, Bowdoin had the third highest number of reported forcible sexual assaults in the NESCAC, though it had the second lowest number in 2012, according to prior Clery reports. Nichols noted in an October 2013 Orient article that these numbers do not always accurately reflect levels of sexual assault, as it is “notoriously underreported.”

Davis is in the process of becoming Director of ResLife, moving from her previous position as Associate Director of Student Affairs and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, and will be working with other members of the College during the spring and summer to figure out exactly what SaVE means for Bowdoin.

What is certain is that the additional Clery statistics will have to be reported in October 2014, and Nichols foresees no difficulty in complying with the new regulations.