A zero-tolerance policy banning alcohol consumption in the Lee/Beaumont Residential College is in effect until Tuesday after multiple students were sent to the hospital for drinking-related issues.

Under Washington University’s official alcohol policy, which complies with Missouri state law that the legal drinking age is 21, the freshman residents of Lee Hall and Beaumont House are not allowed to consume alcohol. However, in practice, students whose drinking is not flagrant, dangerous or disruptive often do not face judicial action.

Washington University Police Department officer Dave Goodwin walks by Lee/Beau Residential College last Friday night. Lee/Beau was inundated with Emergency Support Team calls over the weekend.

The implementation of the zero-tolerance policy means that residents found drinking in Lee or Beau will be subject to sanctions, even when their behavior might not ordinarily merit them, according to Justin Carroll, associate vice chancellor for students.

After Residential Life staff observed an increase in alcohol-related incidents and several students were taken to the hospital after drinking, Lee/Beau’s residential college director, Ashley Viager, sent an email to Lee/Beau residents on Tuesday, Sept. 23, to inform them that any alcohol-related incidents over the coming week would lead to the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy. A follow-up email from Viager on Monday indicated that the policy would go into effect that night. The email also indicated that the policy would end after Oct. 7 “so long as no major incidents occur.”

Carroll described the policy as an attempt to get students to reconsider their drinking behavior rather than a punitive measure.

“No one expects that everyone will comply with it or everyone will take it in the vein that it’s intended,” Carroll said.

“If we don’t do anything at all, we’re ignoring the fact that there’s been a number of things that have gone on there for whatever reason that are concerning. This shouldn’t be the only thing that’s done to try to address that—I’m not suggesting that—but it’s just one of several attempts to try to say, ‘Hey, let’s come together and talk about this as a community,’” he added.

Carroll acknowledged that the policy would not prevent students from drinking in other locations but said he hoped that it would encourage them to work to resolve alcohol-related problems in their community.

“If you focus on ‘Well, I can’t drink here; I’ll just go drink somewhere else’ and you engage in risky behavior, you’re missing the point of what this is all about,” Carroll said.

Student response to the policy was mixed, with many Lee/Beau residents pointing out that the policy punished the entire community for the actions of a few students.

“I think it’s a little bit unfair because Lee and Beau together is such a large group of people—it’s hard to really keep track of who does what,” freshman Claire Elias, a Beaumont resident, said. “Personally, I haven’t really seen any outstanding flagrant behaviors happening on our floor, so that’s a group of 44 that don’t have anything to do with it.

Freshman Michael Zhou, who also lives in Beaumont, thought the policy seemed like a reasonable response to the drinking in Lee/Beau but agreed that it should target residents who had been disruptive rather than the residential college as a whole.

“It’s not really our fault as an entire community that some people don’t follow the rules. If people are going to make bad decisions, that’s their own prerogative, and they should be punished for their decisions,” Zhou said.

Other residents felt that the policy would not stop students from drinking.

“A zero-tolerance policy to me seems likely to lead to closed-door drinking, which is one of the things that our alcohol policy here is designed to prevent,” freshman and Beaumont resident Anthony Schrader said.

Viager could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

With additional reporting by Emma Boczek.