2008 Woodie Awards
After Student Outcry, ResLife Retracts Alcohol Policy Changes
Alec Heilmann
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
Until the student body had their voices heard, UNH had a policy on the books for next year that would ban alcohol paraphernalia in student dorm rooms. Scott Chesney, director of Residential Life, put this policy into next year's student housing contract while bypassing the input that student senate is normally allowed. Recently, however, the rule has been withdrawn.
While early discussions of Chesney's proposal shot down the idea of outlawing alcohol-themed decorations in dorm rooms, the policy outlawing empty alcohol containers and paraphernalia, such as funnels, was still up for debate. It was this version of the policy that Chesney decided to make official - a decision he quickly realized was a hasty one.
Although students' voices were heard regarding the decoration aspect of Chesney's policy, the fact that the rest of the policy was passed without student approval did not sit well with many UNH peers.
"All of the credit goes to the students for changing that back," said Mike Merrill, student body president, regarding the policy withdrawal. Merrill explained that shortly after students discovered the policy had been passed, a flood of letters and well-orchestrated concerns were sent to Chesney.
"It was a pretty big misunderstanding," Merrill said, going on to explain that after he and Chesney spoke with each other, the situation cleared up quickly. He said that Chesney noticed that he went about passing the policy the wrong way, realizing it was unfair to the students. Merrill also said that the rule was only official for a short period of time, showing that Chesney responded very quickly to students' concerns.
Chesney felt that both the student body and the student senate made some "really good points," helping him to better understand both his and his opposition's viewpoints more clearly. He went on to say that he felt sorry that student senate was not allowed to voice their concerns at the time of his proposal, especially because he got his career started by being involved in student senate.
While early discussions of Chesney's proposal shot down the idea of outlawing alcohol-themed decorations in dorm rooms, the policy outlawing empty alcohol containers and paraphernalia, such as funnels, was still up for debate. It was this version of the policy that Chesney decided to make official - a decision he quickly realized was a hasty one.
Although students' voices were heard regarding the decoration aspect of Chesney's policy, the fact that the rest of the policy was passed without student approval did not sit well with many UNH peers.
"All of the credit goes to the students for changing that back," said Mike Merrill, student body president, regarding the policy withdrawal. Merrill explained that shortly after students discovered the policy had been passed, a flood of letters and well-orchestrated concerns were sent to Chesney.
"It was a pretty big misunderstanding," Merrill said, going on to explain that after he and Chesney spoke with each other, the situation cleared up quickly. He said that Chesney noticed that he went about passing the policy the wrong way, realizing it was unfair to the students. Merrill also said that the rule was only official for a short period of time, showing that Chesney responded very quickly to students' concerns.
Chesney felt that both the student body and the student senate made some "really good points," helping him to better understand both his and his opposition's viewpoints more clearly. He went on to say that he felt sorry that student senate was not allowed to voice their concerns at the time of his proposal, especially because he got his career started by being involved in student senate.
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