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SOU crackdown seems to be working Campus security says far more students are being sanctioned for alcohol and other violations By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Southern Oregon University officials say a steep increase in alcohol violations last year is the result of a campus wide crackdown on drinking. SOU handed out 139 disciplinary sanctions for liquor law violations in 1999, up from 51 in 1998, according to crime statistics recently released by the campus security department. SOU Security Director Joey Ngan said the sharp increase in alcohol violations is largely the result of tougher enforcement rather than an increase in student drinking. "The campus has adopted a more aggressive policy," he said. SOU stiffened its alcohol policy and enforcement in fall 1998 after a rash of alcohol-related incidents on college campuses nationwide, Ngan said. A year earlier, an intoxicated SOU student was badly injured when he fell from a window ledge at the Greensprings residence hall. Alcohol arrests on campus remained relatively stable under the new policy. Ashland police and campus security issued 26 citations in 1999, just two more than in 1998. Campus policy allows housing staff to issue disciplinary actions without calling on security personnel, which accounts for the discrepancy in school-issued sanctions and arrests, Ngan said. Also in the report, drug violations increased from 32 in 1998 to 51 in 1999. Drug arrests � most, if not all, for marijuana � rose from 11 to 19, Ngan said. Theft remained SOU�s most commonly reported crime last year, Ngan said. Some 78 thefts were reported in 1999, seven fewer than the previous year. The crime count also shows one forcible sex offense and one robbery. Both statistics stem from a single incident in November, when a female student was groped and robbed on Indiana Street, Ngan said. One aggravated assault, seven assaults, one motor vehicle theft and 20 burglaries also were reported in 1999, according to the crime summary. SOU releases its crime report statistics annually, in accordance with federal disclosure laws, Ngan said. Weekly campus crime reports are also available online and at the security office on campus. "We do want people to feel secure," Ngan said. "On the other hand, we don�t want them to have a false sense of security." Ngan said he believes SOU is generally safe, but points out that it�s not a closed campus. "We�re only as safe as we make it," Ngan said. "There�s no wall around us, there�s no sentry, no entry that we can control. We�re open to the entire city here." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.