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February 8, 2010

Area colleges have plans to help students respect laws

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – Officials at Wilkes University and King’s College say the opening of more than a half-dozen new bars near their campuses has not caused any change in the way they educate students about alcohol safety.

“There’s nothing we do that was instituted in the past two years,” said Wilkes spokeswoman Vicki Mayk. She said that what is in place now is what was in place before the bars opened around Public Square and along South Main Street since students came back from the holiday break in January 2008.

Reflex, Manny Fats, The Mines, Luna, Bourbon Street, Hardware Bar and a larger, relocated Rodano’s have opened for business in that time, bringing more students out at night and leading to a stiffer police presence downtown.

Though they aren’t linked to the bar openings, high-profile incidents involving students led King’s to bolster security around the campus on select nights.

King’s spokesman John McAndrew said the school has spent money and sought grants to pay Wilkes-Barre police officers to patrol the vicinity of the campus on select nights. He said that after last spring’s incidents involving two King’s students, an outside security firm was hired to boost patrols on and near campus.

McAndrew added that all first-year students must enroll in a one-credit course called “First Year Experience.” He said that course deals with a number of things regarding acclimating to college. Included are alcohol and health education, financial issues and more.

“None of these have we been doing because the bars opened downtown,” McAndrew said.

He said the education initiatives and extra patrols have worked, even if recent incidents have gained attention.

According to Bob McGonigle, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at King’s, “From the academic year 2007-2008 to the academic year 2008-2009 we had a drop of about 30 percent in the number of disciplinary cases or complaints from off-campus incidents or complaints about student off-campus residences. This year we are tracking at about the same as last year.”

Among those disciplined was Nathan Strawn, 22. At about 1:54 a.m. Jan. 10, he is alleged to have urinated on the manger scene on Public Square. Strawn appeared before McGonigle for a disciplinary hearing and McAndrew said Strawn chose not appeal the decision. McAndrew said Strawn is not a registered student this semester but declined to say what the school’s punishment was.

Mayk, at Wilkes, said the school keeps an eye on its students’ safety and offers a safe-ride program that enables students to call a taxi for a ride home if they’ve been drinking. There are no questions asked and the school picks up the tab.

Like King’s, Wilkes mandates alcohol education for all incoming students, an online course dubbed “Alcohol.edu.” There also is a “good neighbor” segment during orientation that explains the relationship between students and the city and that emphasizes students are, for nine months of the year, city residents.

Both schools rely on codes of conduct that spell out what is appropriate and what isn’t and detail the potential punishments for failure to follow the rules.

So does Misericordia University, located in Dallas Township, about a 15-minute drive from Wilkes-Barre.

“Misericordia University takes its role and the role of its students in our neighboring communities very seriously,” said college spokesman Paul Krzywicki. “We strive to help our students learn appropriate behaviors and give them opportunities to become respected, productive citizens in our communities. We want them to leave Misericordia as good citizens.”

He said that “we have not seen many issues regarding our students at the downtown Wilkes-Barre establishments” but if something was to occur the school would get involved.

“The university’s jurisdiction extends to each actively enrolled student,” Krzywicki said. “Whether a student acts inappropriately or breaks the law on campus or off campus, the university has the ability to address each and every incident on a case-by-case and student-by-student basis.”

Andrew Seder, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-970-7269.

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