THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009
NEWS
5
PRIVACY (CONTINUED FROM 4)
community."
ALCOHOL ABUSE STATISTICS
Each year, more than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
- More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
Toomey said campuses could decide to allow alcohol use without causing problems as long as the restrictions were clearly defined and the rules were strictly enforced.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's (MIAA) Task Force on College Drinking
"Each campus needs to look at each exemption and the rules for those exceptions need to be very clear," Toomey said.
She said sending mixed messages in allowing alcohol on campus in some cases while barring it at others could be counterproductive in preventing abuse.
"If there is no alcohol use on campus, I'd like to see enforcement of that across the board," Toomey said. "Even at a faculty event, I want to make sure there are some controls in place."
Robert Voas, a senior research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Maryland, conducted a study of two college campuses that allowed drinking. He said the study was designed to see if allowing drinking on campus contributed to alcohol-related problems among students. He said at each university, one in Utah and one in San Diego, alcohol was served on campus, but strict rules were enforced to prevent minors from drinking.
"In both cases, the systems
seemed well enough controlled that you could not relate drinking on campus to student drinking problems." Voas said.
Voas said both campuses in the study had a large police presence on and around campus. He said campus policies were effective if the surrounding areas were controlled as well.
"When you sit down a campus in the middle of a bar district, it's very hard to show differences based on campus rules," Voas said.
The University Alcohol Task Force has proposed working with the Lawrence community, including bar owners, to avoid student alcohol abuse.
The task force is also considering amending the rights of students in residence halls to allow the search of their rooms without a search warrant if there is probable cause to
suspect alcohol use inside.
Jack Martin, deputy director of University communications, said the policy had been approved by the Student Housing Advisory Board.
"We worked with students to make sure it was consistent and fair," Martin said. "The proposal is very similar to policies that exist at other universities."
Madeline Johnson, Overland Park Junior, was a member of the Student Housing Advisory Board last spring when the proposal was made. She said the entire board approved the new search policy.
"Some people were concerned about the wording," Johnson said. "The residents wanted specific language that said a staff member couldn't look through drawers or open up closets."
The proposal only allows residence hall staff to enter a room,but
a search warrant would be required to open any drawers, closets or other enclosed areas.
Doug Bonney, legal director for ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri, said universities often allowed searches of residence hall rooms for health and safety purposes.
He said it was important for students to know that residence hall officials could search for housing contract violations without a warrant, but that no law enforcement searches could be done without one.
"They are not allowed to circumvent the fourth amendment," Bonney said.
He said the proper way for residence halls to deal with possible legal violations would be to go through the court to obtain a search warrant. Without a search warrant, Bonney said, a student would likely not face legal ramifications.
Toomey said universities must be careful when proposing policies that deal with students' rights.
"Enforcement needs to be consistently conducted and legally conducted," she said. "It should also be respectful and linked together in a systematic approach."
Edited by Justin Hilley
GOVERNMENT
Senate Committee votes to approve Sotomayor
WASHINGTON — Pushing toward a historic Supreme Court confirmation vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 on Tuesday and approved Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice, over nearly solid Republican opposition.
Just one Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, joined Democrats to support her, although four others have said they'll vote for Sotomayor when her nomination comes before the full Senate next week.
The near-unanimous Republican vote against Sotomayor on the Judiciary panel reflected the choice many GOP conservatives have made to side with their core supporters and oppose a judge they charge will bring liberal bias and racial and gender prejudices to her decisions. Others in the party, however, are concerned that doing so could hurt their efforts to broaden their base, and particularly alienate Hispanic voters.
Hispanic and civil rights groups hailed the panel's vote as a turning point in the march toward embracing racial equality in the United States.
Associated Press
Sunflower Broadband keeps you connected with this great student package!
Student double play only $80/mo.* for 12 months
2 roommates, $40/person
3 roommates, $26.67/person
4 roommates, $20/person
Bronze internet
Up to 1.5 Mbps download speeds
3 GB bandwidth allotment
Bronze TV
*HD Tune or cable card required to view HD Channels.
Pricing does not include taxes or fees. Some restrictions apply.
Get HBO FREE for one month, then 1/2 price for 10 months. Call for details.
Ask about phone service starting at just $14.95/mo.
HBO 1/2 price offer!
Over 200 channels,46 HD SD-DVR and Basic Box included
more free HD! fastest internet!
sunflower | BROA DBAND
World-Class Broadband. Hometown Care. $ ^{ \text{TM}}$
841-2100
sunflowerbroadband.com