Off-campus drinking may well have just become far more costly for those underage students who choose to imbibe. Citing the desire to maintain and improve safety within the community, Public Safety Chief Michael McNair recently disclosed a new initiative aimed at improving communication and cooperation between Public Safety and police departments in Maryland and D.C.
While the AU community certainly considers the safety of students a top priority - especially after the recent sexual assaults and robberies in the area - there is a lot of concern among students that the new relationship between Public Safety and local police will foster an unnecessary increase in Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services' involvement in cases of non-violent, relatively low-impact offenses. Having both the police and JAMS piling on the penalties seems excessive.
It is true that each student signs an agreement upon enrolling at AU in which they pledge to uphold standards appropriate and beneficial to the surrounding community. But it does not follow that such a contract should permit a student to be punished twice for the same offense.
The community doesn't just judge AU by the off-campus actions of its students. With many new construction projects underway and in various stages of planning, it is of paramount importance that AU maintain good relations with the surrounding area lest any residents put up barriers to the process. All of that is understandable, but it does beg the question: is AU entering into this collaboration in the name of neighborly love, or in the name of its own self-interest?
