A night of heavy drinking could now leave George Washington University students with more than a nasty hangover the next day.
Administrators at GW unveiled a policy last month to begin charging students who throw up on the university shuttle that transports students between campuses, said Adela de la Torre, a media relations associate at GW.
The fines could exceed $300, according to The Hatchet, the student newspaper at GW.
Kevin Wyatt, the shuttle coordinator for AU's Transportation Services, said there have been a few similar incidents on AU shuttles, but none were serious.
AU does not charge students who throw up on its shuttles, Wyatt said.
The GW shuttle, the Vern Express, runs between the university's Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses. The ride lasts 10 to 13 minutes, according to GW's Web site. The university's Mount Vernon campus is located on Foxhall Road, off Nebraska Avenue, 1.4 miles from AU.
There are two to three incidents per semester on the Vern Express, The Hatchet reported.
"For destruction and damage of property, obviously there are ramifications," de la Torre said.
Margeaux Faticone, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, called such student behavior "irresponsible." She said once a student got sick on a bus where Faticone was not present, but others on the bus told her about it.
"Everyone was pissed," Faticone said.
Vomit-related incidents typically occur on weekends between 2 and 3 a.m., according to Markus McEaddy, an AU shuttle driver.
Drivers may look for students who appear intoxicated and encourage them to sit near the front of the bus and tell the driver if they need the driver to pull over, Wyatt said, but AU drivers cannot refuse service to anyone, whether they appear drunk or not.
"[The drivers] don't have the authority to tell somebody 'I can't pick you up,'" Wyatt said. "We don't even check IDs."
McEaddy recalled an incident of a student getting sick on his bus when no one else was available to clean the bus. He said the bodily fluids were "toxic" and potentially harmful to other passengers.
"It was late, and I needed the bus," he said, noting that it would have taken too long to swap the bus for another. "I just mopped it up."
Students need to be more responsible, Faticone said.
"If you throw up on a bus, you should at least pick up after yourself," Faticone said. "I don't think [the fine] is unrealistic."
Melanie Lawton, a senior in the School of International Service, said people should be considerate when they drink too much.
"It's a big mess, and they should be more responsible," she said.
McEaddy said he was undecided about enforcing fees on drunken students. Such action is unnecessary to prevent delays on the shuttles because the AU shuttles come so often, McEddy said.
"With AU's bus system, [students] only have to wait five minutes for the next bus," he said.
McEaddy suggested the university give a warning instead of intoxicated students who throw up on a shuttle.
