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Dear K Students Living Off-Campus,
We are continually pleased by the wonderful contributions
that Kalamazoo College students, both new and returning,
make to our campus and local community. Our students are
a large part of what makes Kalamazoo College a continually
stimulating and challenging place to be. As a student living
in the Kalamazoo community, you have the opportunity to
not only continue your leadership on campus through involvement
with organizations and athletics, but also make a difference
in the broader Kalamazoo community.
Students have opportunities to make a wide variety of choices.
Although we have been proud of most of the choices that
student make, occasionally we see some individuals who have
not made choices in their best interest, or the best interests
of the College and Kalamazoo communities. We need your help
to ensure that Kalamazoo College serves as a community role
model for responsible student behavior.
No doubt, you have read or heard about how student parties,
which often happen off-campus and frequently involve alcohol,
can escalate into situations that result in dangerous or
destructive behavior, create a disruption for neighbors,
or form a negative reputation for students living in the
community. What may begin as a simple get-together can quickly
turn into an environment where problematic behavior can
occur. When this happens off campus, students and parents
are often under the impression that the College will not
become involved. In fact, nothing could be further from
the truth.
Kalamazoo College has a Student Code of Conduct that holds
all students accountable for their behavior both on and
off campus. Information about College policies and sanctions
can be found at:
Jurisdiction and Relationship to Governmental Law Enforcement
Units
http://www.kzoo.edu/studev/stuconduct/stuConduct.html
Alcohol:
http://www.kzoo.edu/studev/socPol/alcohol.html
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety adds "party
patrols" on fall and spring weekends, two person squad
cars that patrol predominantly student neighborhoods and
around the K and WMU campuses. The goal is to head off disturbances
before they become problematic. You should also note that
the penalties from civil authorities for students who take
part in disturbances are becoming increasingly severe.
We urge you to take some time to talk frankly with friends
and your house or apartment mates about your expectations
for behavior, and the potential dangers individuals face
when it comes to the abuse of alcohol. Talk about how you
will responsibly manage gatherings at your house or apartment.
Please consider the following facts compiled by Dr. Henry
Wechsler, the director of a Harvard University study that
for the past decade has tracked the drinking habits of over
15,000 students at 140 four-year colleges:
- More than 40 percent of all college students nationally
admit to binge drinking in the past 30 days. Dr. Wechsler
defines binge drinking as five or more drinks in a single
sitting for men, and four or more drinks in a single sitting
for women.
- Each year, some 1,400-college students from across the
country die in alcohol-related accidents. That's one-half
the final death toll in the World Trade Center disaster.
- More than one million students annually suffer injuries
caused by their own or someone else's alcohol abuse.
- 159,000-freshman drop out of college every year for
alcohol or drug-related reasons.
- One college study showed that 74 percent of sexual assault
perpetrators on campus and 55 percent of the sexual assault
victims had been drinking.
- Alcohol has been linked to one-half of all campus crime.
From: Weschler, Henry, and Wuethrich, Bernice; Dying to
Drink, St. Martin's Press (Rodale), 2002
We will continue to do our part to reinforce the message
of responsible choices and behavior and their relationship
to student success. Should you have any questions about
Kalamazoo College's Student Code of Conduct or the issues
addressed above, please contact Dean of Students, Vaughn
Maatman (337-7209). Working together, we can ensure that
this is a year of academic and social growth and success
for everyone in the College community.
Sincerely,
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