One of the most important lessons that many Bowdoin students learn at college occurs outside of the classroom and late into the weekend night, when the "work hard, drink hard" mentality of college kicks in, and students learn how much alcohol they can tolerate.
This lesson, however, is often learned the hard way, and puts the decision-making skills of students who have too much to drink, as well as their friends', to the test.
Students caring for an extremely intoxicated friend are sometimes are faced with the decision about whether to call Bowdoin Security for help or to put their friend to bed and hope for the best.
When questioned, several students said that they would call Security if they were concerned about an intoxicated friend. Almost every student, however, had a moment of pause when they considered the risk of getting in trouble.
"I'd be terrified, even though it's probably the best thing to do," Josh Magno '11 said.
Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols said he hopes to eradicate this hesitation from a student's thought process.
"My worst fear is a student not calling for help," he said. "Our goal is to help, I can't stress that enough. We are not in the business of burning bridges. If you call for help, that's what you're going to get."
Nichols said that when a Bowdoin Security offer is alerted of a seriously intoxicated student, the officer's first priority is "not to be punitive to people who call for help" in caring for a sick friend, but to assess the intoxicated student and decide whether or not the situations requires further medical help.
In the days following hospitalization, a student can expect to meet with his or her Dean to discuss any disciplinary action necessary.
Director of Residential Life Kim Pacelli explained that the College's "primary focus is on making sure that the student is doing better and reflecting on the experience."
It is typical that a dean will either suggest or require the student to visit the Counseling Center and to contact his or her parents or coach about the incident.
Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster added that, while the College holds the student responsible for his or her actions, the deans also "strive to be fair, consistent, and educationally-minded" in their disciplinary response to the incident.
To date this semester, four Bowdoin students and one visiting student have been medically transported to the hospital for concerns of alcohol poisoning, with the majority of these incidents occurring in the first weeks of school.
Though Nichols said that while young, small-framed women are the most likely victims of alcohol poisoning, four out of the five of this semester's transports have been male, and more upper-class students have been sent to the hospital in recent years than in the past.
"The common thread is always hard alcohol," Nichols said.
"In my 11-plus years at Bowdoin," Foster added, "only one student has gone to the hospital because he had too much beer to drink."
For this reason, hard alcohol is prohibited on campus.
Bowdoin began formally tracking alcohol-related hospital visits about four years ago. On average, about 10 students a semester are brought to the hospital for treatment, with 11 student transports occurring in the spring semester of 2007.
Pacelli calls this average "10 too many," mirroring statements made by Nichols and Foster that the greatest force in lowering the number of alcohol poisonings on campus is the Bowdoin student body itself.