Carleton is set to launch a new alcohol strategy in March with recommendations to encourage consistent rules and responsible drinking on campus.
The recommendations will include asking Oliver’s Pub to use different pricing, said director of Student Affairs Ryan Flannagan.
An example would be charging less for light beer than regular beer.
“If students are more inclined to drink the light beer, the evidence is clear that you’re going to have less issues, fights, and stuff like that,” he said.
Flannagan said the strategy will be an addition to Carleton’s alcohol policy, which regulates on-campus sale and service of alcohol, alcohol advertisements, and staff who serve alcohol.
“We have an alcohol policy here at the university which has been in place for a number of years. The document that we are launching in the very near future is an alcohol strategy which incorporates the alcohol policy,” he said.
The strategy also covers an updated policy on advertisements with alcohol, increasing awareness around consumption, and smoothing alcohol regulations in residence buildings.
Flannagan said there has been criticism that the residence community does not consistently penalize students with respect to alcohol use.
“Johnny in Prescott may do something and Suzie over in Dundas does something very similar, but two completely different sanctions,” he said.
The strategy will make sure there is consistency with how everyone is treating alcohol on campus, he said.
It also looks at whether the university should introduce alcohol-free floors or buildings in residence, and increase awareness for parents.
“The more knowledgeable parents are about alcohol, and the sooner they engage their son or daughter before they come to university, the better off the student is when they’re actually here on their own,” Flannagan said.
“The purpose of the program is to teach students how to consume alcohol responsibly,” he said.
The strategy also suggests specific plans for school events, such as homecoming and Capital Hoops.
Flannagan said he consulted with the Carleton University Students’ Association, the Graduate Students’ Association, and other departments within the university to collectively create the strategy.
“We had a committee established to create the alcohol strategy,” he said. “Together, we worked on various recommendations and came up with what we thought would work for the campus.”
Flannagan said the strategy is not the result of drinking behaviour at Carleton being worse than at other universities.
“We are trying to address the behaviour in advance of an accident . . . versus being in a situation where we’re reacting to a tragedy,” he said.
