Houghton College’s disciplinary policy regarding alcohol use is continually on the table for discussion among students and other community members. As stated in the 2015-2016 edition of the Student Guide, “The normal sanction for a first offense involving purchase, distribution, possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages…is disciplinary probation. A second offense normally involves suspension from the college.”
This “hard line,” as Vice President of Student Life Rob Pool called it, serves to make clear Houghton’s stance on alcohol use in the Christian learning environment. Yet there is question as to whether this “hard line” may also be heavy handed and conducive to the inequitable treatment of involved students, particularly athletes.
Disciplinary probation in is the removal of most co-curricular opportunities beyond the “core” of a Houghton education for at least one semester, according to Pool. Specifically, a student on disciplinary probation may not participate in intercollegiate sports, theatre, music ensembles, nor lead a student club or organization.
“Certainly,” Pool admitted, “ if you take a student who is not involved at all, versus a student who is involved. . . disciplinary sanctions would affect them more broadly than a non-involved student.” Pool also noted that as of last year, athletes in particular were reported for violations at a rate disproportionate to their presence in the student body, which is roughly 23-25%.
Maisie Pipher ‘16, a forward on the women’s basketball team, said that while the repercussions for alcohol use and other infractions may be tougher on student athletes, “I see why…it is a privilege to be an athlete and we are kind of representing the school. We are forewarned about it plenty of times,” at mandatory meetings at the beginning of every academic year. While Pipher admitted to the appeal of shorter suspensions from co-curricular activities for first time alcohol infractions, she also expressed hesitance, as such a policy could lead to arbitrary application.
In response to this issue, Athletic Director Harold “Skip” Lord stated, “To whom much is given, much will be taken away. Athletics and other co curricular activities are a privilege, not a right. The athletic department may implement discipline aside from Student Life procedures, including reprimands and suspensions.”
Taylor Button ‘16, student assistant coach of women’s basketball fell in line with Lord, stating, “We [as athletes] put ourselves in the position for the athletic department to hold us to a higher standard.”
Houghton College is not the only Christian college with a strict no-alcohol policy. Messiah College, a familiar face in athletic competition and musical events, is, like Houghton, alcohol, drug, and tobacco free. According to the Messiah College Student Guide, the exceptions to this policy are slim, the partaking of communion wine and the consumption of alcohol by of age students in the presence of parents and/or during breaks are among them.
Unlike Houghton, however, violations of this policy induce a range of disciplinary procedures, ranging from a written reprimand to expulsion. Steve King, Messiah’s Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Compliance stated, “Our Athletics administration and our Student Affairs administration tries to treat both non-athletes and athletes as students first. Banning student-athletes from teams is more likely to result from a violation of that team’s expectations rather than College policy.”
King continued, “Discipline, especially within large communities like Messiah and Houghton, is hard. Often we, in our human nature, I think, want things to be really obvious and equal with regard to disincline. ‘X violation always equals Y penalty’ is an attractive approach because it seems fair.” This view has led to an updated model of discipline at Messiah College, in which King said “the consequences may vary depending on the context of the situation.”
Pool emphasized that the implementation of disciplinary probation depends on the “severity, frequency, and [negative] impact” of an infraction. He said, “it’s not just Student Life asking ‘did you have a beer?’ and then putting a student on disciplinary probation.”
“The spirit behind disciplinary probation is ‘ok, you’ve been given freedom, and you’ve violated the trust of the community, and we’re taking some [of that freedom],” Pool said. “It seems heavy handed, perhaps, but we always look at various factors of severity, frequency, impact” which warrant the immediate severity –“the student guide states that one [drug or alcohol violation] will result in DP…that’s the hard line. However, [the Student Conduct Committee] has latitude in applying sanctions.”
However, not all students may find this satisfactory, and some may prefer Houghton to implement the contextualized approach of Messiah College as described by King. In the meantime, Pool said, ““I think it’s helpful for students to get to know the student guide. Students should know their rights and ask questions, and if students are unsatisfied with the current policy, [they should] recommend change to their student government association (SGA) and see where that process leads us.”
