University abolishes wet suite contracts
The Department of Community Living has discontinued the policy of wet suite contracts in quads with a majority of residents over 21 in an effort to make it easier for students to register their parties, according to Director of Community Living for Juniors and Seniors Erika Lamarre.Lamarre explained that in previous years, wet suite contracts enabled students over age 21 to register parties where alcohol would be available. Since wet suite contracts no longer exist, party registration is available to all residences in which there is a host over 21.
"You had to be a wet suite to register a party, and we didn't want to suppress anyone's ability to register a party so we feel like we opened a door by setting that aside and focusing more on party, registration," said Lamarre.
Katherine Keyes, the community development coordinator for the Ziv and Ridgewood Quads, explained in an e-mail that last year, three people in a suite had to be of drinking age in order to register a party, whereas this year, in which there is no wet suite policy, students can register parties regardless of how old their suitemates are.
Lamarre, who headed the Alcohol Task Force last year, said the Department of Community Living made this decision in consultation with the Student Union and the Alcohol Task Force.
Jeremy Leiferman, the senior director of community living, said that this decision, in addition to extending the option of party registration to more people, also stemmed from the fact that wet suite contracts were essentially redundant in relation to party registration because the aspects of registering for a wet suite were similar to registering a party.
"The elements of the wet suite agreement are covered through party registration, elements about what it means to be responsible in terms of drinking, so we essentially combined the efforts," Leiferman explained.
However, Lamarre also said that this decision does not necessarily reflect a change in alcohol policy, since only students who are of drinking age can do so; it merely reflects the DCL's desire to make it easier for students to register their parties.
"The wet suite was just a way of tracking who was 21 and making it not a big deal to have alcohol in the suite. If you're 21 and over, you can still have alcohol in the suite. There isn't really a change in policy," she said.
"We are not trying to crack down on alcohol policy but open a door," she added.
Jenna Brofsky '10, a resident of Ziv quad and a member of the Student Union, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that she feels this change is positive because it allows students to be more responsible while simultaneously making the party registration process easier.
Keyes said that she believed this policy was universally beneficial, as well.
"Already during this academic school year I have had a handful of party registration forms, the parties that were registered were a success," she wrote.
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