Meetings to review SIUC’s alcohol policy are proceeding smoothly thanks in part to an expert in the field, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Harvey Welch said.

We are fortunate to have Barb Fijolek who is part of a national group that looks at substance abuse issues and counsels people who are revising alcohol policies, Welch said. She is one of the leading authorities in this area and has written a number of alcohol policies, the most recent being the policy for Syracuse [University].

The SIU Board Trustees first asked for a review of the policy in October 1997, when alcohol-related deaths at other universities raised concerns among the trustees.

Advertisement

The board wanted the administrations of both its campuses to devise a common policy to be presented at the board’s May meeting.

The policy review board currently has not released details of its findings and its recommendations, but the policy likely will not affect tailgate parties or Sunset Concerts.

USG President Dave Vingren said that after spending a few meetings and several hours trying to determine the board’s motives, the committee has enacted a very broad alcohol policy that should not affect the popular campus events.

The process should be very quick and efficient from here on, he said.

Welch said the committee has met three times since December and the review of the policy is going well.

The first meeting, he said, served as an orientation to the members of the committee. The second meeting, Fijolek, SIUC Student Health Programs coordinator, and her SIU-Edwardsville counterpart, Betty Lawton, outlined the similarities in the policies of each campus.

At the third meeting Monday, Fijolek and Lawton presented a draft the committee would like to present to the board to include in the final policy.

Advertisement*

The draft submitted by Fijolek and Lawton Monday outlined everything the committee recommends the board include in the final draft

Peter Ruger, legal counsel for the board, said the board has asked to have the review completed by the end of the semester and a policy approved and in effect by the fall.

Hopefully, this will result in something that is acceptable to all, Ruger said.