The Office of Citizenship and Community Standards has modified the existing alcohol policy so that first time offenders are now required to notify their parents of his or their misconduct and take part in an alcohol-education workshop.

In the past, students were required to notify parents only when on probation.

The changes to the university’s alcohol policy require underage students to notify parents by submitting a letter when caught consuming or in possession of alcohol after the first offense.

The changes will involve parents in an effort to prevent more serious problems from occurring in the future.

Last spring, a group of staff members came together to discuss and determine how to change the culture of alcohol use on campus.

Daniel Kast, director of the Office of Citizenship and Community Standards, said that the severity of alcohol-related incidents was increasing.

“I don’t think we will ever dramatically reduce the number of alcohol violations,” Kast explained. “There will always be freshmen experimenting when they get to college.

What we can reduce is the irresponsible drinking and repeat offenders.”

The policy only comes into play when there is active drinking involved.

For example, if a student is caught at a drinking party but he or she is not drinking or if empty alcohol containers are found parents may not be immediately notified but the student will still receive an alcohol violation.

In addition, the policy only pertains to those students who are under the age of 21 and who are dependents.

The expectations of students still remain the same while the sanctions imposed have been altered. Sophomore Chet Anderson sees two sides to the new policy.

“Frankly, the changes in the alcohol policy do not bother me. I am certain that notifying parents, as well as requiring classes is a wholesome policy, however, it is neither fair nor just to notify parents in the case of first-time offenders,” Anderson said. “Without evidence of a pattern of behavior, there is far too much speculation and far too many unknowns involved in the equation.”

In addition to writing a letter to parents, offenders will have to complete an alcohol-education workshop which lasts three hours and requires the students to pay a $50 fee.

Kast said that the goal of the new policy is to reduce the number of repeat offenders and stop students before consequences become more severe.