What the Associated Student Government promised to be an “informal and fruitful” discussion with university officials on Thursday night ended up being an intimate conversation about the school’s financial situation, alcohol consumption on campus and more.
Vice President of Alumni Relations and Development Sarah Pearson; Director of Health Education and Health Service Administration Michele Morales; and Director of Judicial Affairs Jim Neumeister addressed approximately 10 students in the Northwestern Room at the Norris Student Center in an open forum organized by the ASG.
Dean of Student Affairs Mary Desler was scheduled to speak at this event, but due to a family emergency, Neumeister took her place.
The three members of the university administration discussed a wide range of topics. Pearson spoke mainly about the budgetary status of the school in light of the recent recession.
“The goal of our department is to help create a thread of life-long relationships with students from the time the student says ‘yes’ to being accepted at Northwestern to the day that they die,” she said.
Due to the recession, Pearson said her office was “swamped” with alumni needing help. She emphasized that the university also needed them for future donations, saying that even in a recession, donations are “a part of who America is — we give.”
Morales, whose department deals primarily with alcohol and sexual abuse, spoke about the university’s efforts to educate students through Community Assistants and New Student Week. This was the first year that Wildcat Welcome educational videos included information about the abuse of prescription drugs.
“Not a lot of people know that mixing an opioid with alcohol is fatal, even at very low doses,” Morales said. “Most of the deaths that I saw at my four years [working] at a rehab center were due to mixing alcohol and opioids.”
Neumeister described some alarming statistics; since Community Service Officers were implemented in dorms during the ‘07-’08 school year, alcohol citations doubled. The number of alcohol emergencies this school year already surpassed the 73 that took place last year.
He also mentioned that although a committee of administrators is “moving quickly” toward submitting a proposal for a policy of alcohol amnesty at Northwestern, there is no timeline for when this policy change might be implemented. “It may be part of the solution — it is not the answer,” Neumeister said.
Neumeister also stated that the number of marijuana violations tripled last year over the year before.
ASG Senate Speaker Jack Eichorst, who moderated the event, said he was pleased with the turnout.
“An intimate setting is definitely preferable; it’s more of a conversation than a big forum where people can vent their frustrations,” the Weinberg senior said.