News
New policy 'brew'haha
Campus policy bans alcohol during events
Student organizations fear recent changes in the official function policy at Metro may have unintended effects.
The new policy defines an official function as an event for official business purposes sponsored by Metro personnel that includes food and/or alcohol of any kind, and states that all official events must have pre-approval of the appropriate executive such as the college dean, vice-president or president.
According to Cathy Lucas, Metro spokeswoman, the policy passed after going to a vote in the Sept. 12 president's cabinet meeting, with student representation present.
Dennis Bergquist, Metro's interim student president, said the changes have created a situation where group-generated funds need official approval for all events, regardless of the size or amount spent.
Money generated by student organizations for their groups must be deposited with Metro, Bergquist said. That money must now have executive approval for all functions, which was not the case prior to the changes.
"If your group wanted to have a pizza at their meeting, they would need an official sign-off," Bergquist said.
Bergquist said it might force some student organizations to not deposit their money with Metro, but, rather, open private, multiple-signature accounts, which, technically, is not allowed by the school bylaws.
"They might be setting up a scenario where these groups take matters into their own hands," Bergquist said.
But, according to Lucas, Karen Raforth, interim VP of student services, brought up potential issues with the new policy such as student-organization spending.
"Dr. Jordan said 'this is where we vent everything,'" Lucas said, referring to the cabinet meeting. "He wants all issues brought to the table during discussion so we don't regret our decisions and have to change things."
Bergquist says while he remembers Raforth bringing up potential issues, he does not remember Raforth specifically talking about student organization spending, but that those were the type of issues she was referring to.
The new policy was created to shore up any issues that could arise with school spending, especially with student tuitions rising every year, Bergquist said.
The new policy also redefines the policy regarding alcohol at school-related functions.
According to the new policy, the school does not authorize payment for alcoholic beverages with three exceptions: executive-approved functions where alcohol is specifically stated in the request, when it is purchased for use in the Hospitality, Travel and Management Administration courses, and when purchased through the Metro Foundation.
The foundation is responsible for fund-raising events using private funding, such as the Brian Wilson concert put on last Aug. 26. The school cannot use state funds to purchase alcohol for their fund-raisers, so the foundation purchases the alcohol to be sold at the event.
However, contrary to what the new policy states, the foundation does not have an official policy regarding alcohol purchasing as of right now, according to Dianne McAllister with the foundation.
"I was not notified of anything that was in there about the foundation ahead of time, so I can't say 'well yes we have something,' or 'we have something different from the college,' because I did not know that is what was going to be said," said McAllister. "Our policy, in general, is that we follow the same procedures as the college."
McAllister said that since the school is in the process of changing its policies, the foundation board would be meeting to draft its policy.
The new policy encompasses all official functions, such as community-related functions, employee-recognition functions, official-school-holiday parties, recruitment functions, student functions and occasional lunch meetings of employees and official guests of the college.
Prior to all events, the person or people holding the function must complete an official request form and state specifically what the function will entail.