JRW TRANSPORTS ON THE RISE

According to Steven Sears, Ph.D., dean of Residence Life, it appears that the annual Junior Ring Weekend, has "become more about the dance and the formal rather than about the rings and celebrating the Providence College legacy." Whatever the reason, students did celebrate the weekend of Nov. 13, although a few celebrated more than others. Seven individuals were transported by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital over the course of JRW for being dangerously intoxicated. Two of those transported were guests of Providence College students who were asked to leave campus promptly after returning from the hospital. As for the PC students who were transported, letters were hand-delivered the following day informing them that they would not be allowed to attend the remaining JRW events. "Alcohol has always been an issue, and in fact is one of the main reasons that the event was moved on campus," said Sharon Hay, dean of Student Programming. "Last year was the first year that the Friday night event was brought onto campus." None of the transports, however, were from the Twin River Casino. All seven were transports from the PC campus, and five of those were directly from what students refer to as the "club night" in Peterson Recreation Center. "I do not have the statistics from last year but can tell you that seven is extremely high. One is too high," said Hay. This year's number was in fact higher than the 2008 JRW, which had only four transports. "The number of transports has been high for the past four to five years," said Sears. "This is why we have formulated a more in-depth evaluation process. We also staggered the arrival times in order to pay more attention to the condition of the students." There were also letters given to students with information about expectations for the event. It talked about the importance of arriving on time, the privilege to attend the event, and the alcohol policy. Twelve security officers, four EMTs, one fire marshal, two police officers, and seven staff members were present at the Friday event. This is the standard security for a large event. Koren Kanadanian, director of Emergency Management, explained that while security patted down students entering the event, one or two were asked to leave the event due to attempting to sneak alcohol into Peterson. The personnel also observed the students' behavior, and nine students were pulled out of the line to be evaluated by EMTs. "We were looking to see if anyone was stumbling, if they were talking loudly, if they were acting inappropriately," said Kanadanian. "If they were, someone from Security, the SAIL Office, or Student Affairs pulled them aside and asked them to have an evaluation done with the EMTs. The EMTs then determined if they had been drinking alcohol, if they could go to the event or needed to go back to their room, or if they were so intoxicated that they needed to seek medical treatment." EMTs determined the severity of a students' intoxication by asking them particular questions such as the date, time, and their current location. Low blood pressure, high heart rate, or vomiting is also a sign that they may need medical attention. "We don't know how much you've had to drink," said Kanadanian. "Your alcohol level could be rising, so we try to make an assumption of where you are at. We may have you sit for 10 or 15 minutes to see where you are going. If you tend to get worse we may send you off to the hospital. If you do not get any worse and you answer questions appropriately, we may tell you just to go back to your room." After consulting the EMTs, it was members of the SAIL Office staff who made the decision about whether or not each student could go back to the event. Kanadanian was also present at JRW last year, and while he said the alcohol problem was about the same both years, there is growing concern within the administration that could lead to reforms in the traditional weekend. "Looking at the last two years, there is definitely the feeling that it needs to change. JRW cannot focus on alcohol, and if it continues, I think it is going to be a detriment to JRW. The whole culture has to change," said Kanandian. Hay agreed and expressed how the true meaning of the longstanding PC tradition has been lost in recent years. "I do expect for there to be changes next year, but it is too soon to know what those changes will be," said Hay. "Junior Ring Weekend was established to celebrate the distribution of class rings and to strengthen class unity. Sadly, for many students, the meaning behind JRW has been lost.  I must commend this year's Junior Ring Weekend Core for striving to put the 'ring' back in JRW.  Their theme, 'reignite the tradition,' spoke to this goal. Much work still needs to be done in bringing the true meaning back to this event."