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Alcohol and Drug Issue 1

Roger Williams University

Memorandum

To: The Department of Public Safety

From: Assistant Directors, Office of Student Affairs

Date: February 18th, 2014

Subject: Alcohol and Drug Issue at Roger Williams University

Purpose:

The problem that we are proposing to research is the increase in drug and alcohol violations that are occurring on and off campus. The number of violations has been on a steady rise in the past few years, and we want to figure out why. This is a problem because students are getting hurt, and there could also be legal ramifications against the students in question along with the school. We propose a research project into figuring out why there has been an increase in violations, and if there will be legal ramifications for the parties involved. Comment by Dahliani Reynolds: Interesting lines of inquiry. I’m not sure the legal ramifications is fully justified, but your purpose statement is otherwise cogent.

Methodology:

The Roger Williams University website provides campus life information including the policies and guidelines of the university which will help us during our research to receive correct data. We will evaluate current policies surrounding students’ alcohol and drug use both on and off campus and compare RWU’s policies with other universities. Looking at other college and university policies and guidelines will help us tremendously in figuring out how we can fix the increase of alcohol and drug violations. We will discover the Colleges and Universities by contacting them and looking at their school websites. We will do anything we can to ensure RWU is in line with current best practices to keep our environment safe and secure. Below are some important questions to ask ourselves while we do our research. Comment by Dahliani Reynolds: Which other universities? How many will you compare?

These are some important research questions: How quickly are the rates of violations increasing? When did they start increasing? What year are most of the students who are caught? What other Colleges and Universities are against on and off campus drinking and what are their policies and guidelines? Comment by Dahliani Reynolds: Redundant Comment by Dahliani Reynolds: Good questions

Significance:

As the Office of Student Affairs, it is our responsibility to take action in investigating and studying these changes in the activities of students at Roger Williams. This includes issues ranging from student involvement in extra-curricular activities, to affairs such as the one at hand. We are concerned about the rising violation rates in campus policy, mainly related to substance abuse, because not only does it look bad for the entire school, but is also destructive to the Bristol community as a whole. This is why I request your permission to investigate these issues to maintain healthy relationships with both the Bristol Police Department and the Bristol community. Finally, because of the severity issues, we hope to curb these violations because it is detrimental to the health and wellness of the student body here at RWU and because it is our mission to provide a safe and healthy campus for which students can live and thrive. Comment by Dahliani Reynolds: You make a persuasive argument about significance

Outcomes:

Our goal for this project is to decrease alcohol and drugs consumption on and off campus in the Bristol area, with the help of the community, local and campus authorities. According to the Crime Statistics of RWU from 2010 to 2012, arrests on and off campus because of drug law violations and liquor law violations has increased every year, just as disciplinary actions has gone up for the same violations. What we want to achieve is to turn around this situation, to decrease the incidents caused by the abuse of alcohol and drugs. This will not only benefit the students and those who surround them, but it will help Roger Williams University with its reputation. The reputation of an institution is crucial, and when it comes to universities the statistics and rates on drinking and drugs incidents affects the decision of a student choosing to attend or not. Comment by Dahliani Reynolds: This is a great long term goal. You might acknowledge more immediate goals that can realistically be achieved as a direct result of your research. The research will provide a foundation for developing new policies/programs/guidelines that will (hopefully) yield the decrease, but it’s not an immediate effect of the report. Does that make sense? Comment by Dahliani Reynolds: Hi All, Your proposal is pretty clear and you make a compelling case as to the significance of the problem. As you’ll see from my notes, most of my comments are about clarity and style rather than any big organizational concerns or conceptual gaps. Let me know if you have any questions. Grade: 2.5/3 points