By Alyssa Braver ’16

Kegs were allowed everywhere, multiple bar rooms operated in fraternities, and bar fights were common.

According to Director of Public Safety Hugh Harris, that was Lafayette when he started in 1982.

Since then, the college has done away with the kegs and bar rooms and there has been a decline in illegal drinking. Society changed, Harris said.

The decline in the number of fraternities may have played a role, but Harris said he does not consider the fraternity or sorority life to be that much of a problem when it comes to drinking.

“People will always find somewhere to drink,” he said.

A change that Harris felt did make a huge difference was a 1998 memorandum between the Northampton District Attorney’s office and other schools in the area including Lehigh, Moravian and Northampton Community College. It gave Public Safety the power to enforce the District Attorney’s law.

Harris was instrumental in Lafayette’s participation.

The college made no arrests during the 1997-98 school year, but the following year the college reported 42 arrests under the memorandum, allowing the school to better enforce the law.

Early in his administration, President Daniel H. Weiss signed on to the Amethyst Initiative, an organization of college presidents proposing a lowering of the legal drinking age. Weiss signed on to address binge-drinking, especially underage.

“The challenges we face throughout the country in terms of trying to control drinking among young people requires that colleges and universities have the ability to work with students on issues of intelligent consumption of alcohol,” Weiss said, according to a 2008 article from The Express-Times.

If there is probable cause to believe that alcohol consumption took place, it is Public Safety’s job to cite students. The key exception is the Good Samaritan clause, which Harris feels is very effective in protecting students.

“We are interested in the safety of students and preventing them from being injured due to alcohol consumption,” Harris said.

According to Harris there are still issues with alcohol, but he believes Lafayette is heading in the right direction. He hopes his successor builds off this positive trend, continuing the Good Samaritan Policy and any work with students.

“We did see much better cooperation from students this Homecoming and Lehigh game. I want to commend the students of both Lafayette and Lehigh on their improvement, as we are very pleased with their positive strides,” Harris said.

He hopes Lafayette students understand the dangers of alcohol abuse and learn from tragedies. Harris said the students are what he will miss most once he retires.