Truman State University has recently changed its alcohol policy and plans to implement the changes with a pilot program to allow students of age to store and consume alcohol in West Campus Suites, Campbell Apartments and Randolph Apartments.
We, The Index Editorial Board, appreciate the effort that students and administration put into working on this policy and believe this change is a good compromise, however, we are concerned about potential complications and extra work that Residence Life would face with the changes.
Student advisers in West Campus Suites and the campus apartments might have to go through additional training because their job is no longer to simply prohibit alcohol use, but help create an environment that is safe for students who can drink alcohol. Naturally, the responsibility of this extra training would fall to ResLife because student advisers are ResLife staff.
ResLife would also have to create more specialized policies. Unless roommates are the exact same age to the day, there will be a time when one roommate is of age and another is not. ResLife would have to be a part of figuring out how to handle those situations.
In addition to policies, the roommate selection process would likely have to be updated to include information relating to drinking preferences. It is important that students know that information about their potential roommate, because alcohol use is something that many people feel strongly about. While this seems like a simple addition to make, it is still added work that ResLife staff will have to attend to.
These are just a few of the potential responsibilities that ResLife would have to take on in addition to the work they already do and we, The Index Editorial Board, don’t think they should carry that burden alone. We hope that administration will also keep these potential issues in mind and help resolve them as they continue to work through the logistics of this policy change.
We recognize that these adjustments and decisions can and should take a significant amount of time, so we encourage the campus community to be patient with the University as the program settles and problems are worked out.