By Collin Hambrick, Staff Writer
Break out a bottle of champagne and celebrate: Bellarmine’s residence halls are no longer alcohol-free.
This change, and a few others, are coming to Bellarmine students living on campus. The changes come as a result of information collected from a housing and dining survey sent by Residence Life in the fall. The survey allowed students to express their opinions and concerns about policy and price issues. More than 600 people submitted the survey, and Residence Life officials listened.
“In terms of policies, we learned that both residents and commuters perceived some policies as restrictive,” said Leslie Maxie, Director of Housing and Residence Life. “For example, when asked to prioritize policy changes in the halls, changes to the visitation policy and alcohol (were) in their top three.”
The decision to go from dry to wet was not an easy one, as the campus had been historically alcohol-free, at least, officially.
“We shared the survey results with RHA (the Residence Hall Association). We had further conversations with students and did some benchmarking within the state,” Maxie said. “After this research, we made these positive changes for spring 2019.”
The official changes to the alcohol policy allow students age 21 and over to have a “reasonable amount” of alcohol in their rooms. A reasonable amount is defined by the policy as a six pack of beer, a bottle of wine or a pint of liquor.
Bellarmine junior Kaleb South said he approves of the changes.
“I believe the new alcohol policy in the residence halls will be a positive factor on campus,” South said. “While I don’t support underage drinking, alcohol being present on campus for upperclassmen will inevitably lead to more involvement on campus.”
Visitation hours on campus also changed as a result of the survey. Guests of the opposite gender now may stay for a full 24 hours instead of the previous visitation hours of 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Dean of Students Sean McGreevey said he was impressed by Residence Life’s innovations.
“Residence Life’s ability to receive the criticism and create change is a huge step in the right direction,” McGreevey said. “My hope is that these changes remove some of the barriers students face when making a decision about living in our residential communities.”
Maxie said Residence Life hopes these changes will help create a more positive community on campus.
“Our long term goals are looking at new, progressive ways to create a better residential community,” Maxie said. “We want our housing program to promote interaction, personal development and the spirit of community.”
The spring semester is a trial run for the new policies. Resident assistants relayed the message from Residence Life that the policies will be changed if alcohol-related infractions occur frequently or if the noise level begins to rise.