University of Rhode Island - Renaissance / Grist Yearbook (Kingston, RI)

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The commuters, the Greeks, the dorm residents all have at least one thing in common besides enrollment at the University. It is a place to which everyone must go at least once a semester, if not once a day as many do, for one reason or another. Set aside to the south of the campus is the Memorial Union, known to students as simply The Union.” For some the Union is just a place to buy books at the beginning of each semester or to cash a check now and again, but for others it is much more. For the students involved in the Union activities spon- sored by SEC, SLS, and the Union Board, this building can be a veritable home away from home. Some other offices located in the Union are the Student Senate, the Cigar, and the Renaissance, as well as several retail stores and two banks. The Ram’s Den is another fre- quently visited spot, for relaxation, eating, or meeting people. Its main purpose is to provide a spot for com- muters to go during their free time, but it brings together many other kinds of people. The list of activities is endless — the Union has been the host to many concerts, meetings, lectures, malls, dances, special sales, and coffee hours to name just a few. It is a place to which everyone must go at least once a semester, if not once a day . . . mi® Lee Greenwald AAThis form of studying occurs regularly within the many comfortable study lounges within the Union. AA student stops to look over the offerings that are set up by the many vendors in the Union. Union Activities 23

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▲ ▲Before the melt, the URI campus can be quite tranquil in the ▲ Karen Sheraton stocks up for Secret Santa gifts at the bookstore. ►For many, hanging out on the wall is a common occurance on a nice Spring day like this. 22 Union Activities

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Since the drinking age has jumped to twenty, 2 3 of the student popula- tion is underage. Because of this the Resident Assistants in the dor- mitories have been presented with a more rigid set of alcohol guidelines to follow, and the dorms have had to seek more activities that are not alcohol related. Paul Dahlgren, Associate Director for Residential Life, stated that the University is in compliance with the state and its drinking laws. He also said that the alcohol policy has re- mained basically the same for the past two years, although others disagree. Dahlgren said that the residence halls have a few more specifications than they have had in the past. For example, there should be no more than six people in a room when alcohol is being served, and there should be no minors. According to Wendy Elliot, a residence hall coordinator, the alcohol regulations ‘‘are the same rules as two years ago, but they af- fect more people now.” Because of the change in legal drinking age, Elliot said that there has been an ef- fort to have more ‘‘non-alcoholic pro- Many students have opted to go off campus to local bars. grams, like trips, coffee houses and more educational programs.” She stressed that ideas from students in the dorms are helpful and should be encouraged because “we have to cater to the majority of the students’ needs,” because most of the students are not of legal age to drink. For an alcoholic party to be organized in a dorm, permission forms must be filled out by two residents who are legally of age and will claim responsibility for the party. These forms must be returned to the Residence Hall Coordinator at least 5 working days before the party. The hall coordinator must then bring them to the Office of Residential Life to get them approved. Elliot said that the parties “are more structured than they used to be and there is also more atten- tion drawn to where they are being held.” Agreeing with Dahlgren, she said that the dorm parties “follow the same rules that a bartender has to deal with. These are state drinking laws and this is a state University. Elliot wishes to uphold the state laws while making life in the dorms liveable for the residents. Bill Toth, who has been an RA for 3 years, said that when the drinking age was 18 there were not any en- forced rules about parties in private rooms and t ' v hallways. However when the age was changed to 19 and subseauently 20, there was a crackaown on the number of parties. Toth said that you always had to register a party, but only one person had to.” Cindy Gardiner, who became an RA when the drinking age had turned to 19, said that during her RA train- ing periods there were discussions every day stressing the alcohol policies. Dahlgren, however, denied that there ever was much stress placed upon this issue, or that more workshops were dedicated to the alcohol policies. Gardiner said that she was among the first students to be introduced to the new policies. She said that the planning for activities was difficult because “much of the activity (on campus) centers around alcohol. Since the new drinking age was im- plemented, many students have opted to go off campus to local bars and parties for their social life. Drink- ing may well be going on behind closed doors in the dorms, but the days of wild keg parties until dawn are long since gone. msQ Dawn Mirone 24 Drinking