The ad-hoc Alcohol and Drug Policy Committee intends gain feedback from students by holding a town hall meeting, forming focus groups and providing the option for online feedback on its website, according to a Nov. 18 campuswide e-mail from Prof. Len Saxe (Heller), the committee's chair.According to its website, "The Alcohol and Drug Committee's goal is to ensure that Brandeis, consistent with its value-based mission, has policies to assure the safety of all students and an environment that promotes learning and growth." The website also says the committee will ensure "the health and safety of our students and the entire university community." In his e-mail to the Brandeis community, Saxe wrote that seeking student input is the "next phase" in the committee's work, and that the committee aims to present its final report by the end of this semester.

Saxe wrote in his campuswide e-mail that the committee is consulting the Student Union regarding the town hall meeting. In an interview with the Justice, Student Union Director of Community Advocacy Sarah Geller '13 said that the tentative date and location for the town hall meeting is Dec. 6 in Salzberg Lounge. Geller described the basic premise of the meeting as "a forum to discuss . progress and . a [question and answer session] for the students about what's going on."

In an interview with the Justice, committee member Heddy Ben-Atar '11, senior representative to the Board of Trustees, said that the town hall meeting is going to be held "because the committee is really interested in hearing student feedback about any kind of proposals that they'll put forth. The committee definitely feels like student participation in this process is crucial to any kind of successful outcome."

Committee members who are affiliated with the Heller School for Social Policy and Management will conduct the focus groups, according to Saxe's campuswide e-mail. "All information from the groups will be shared with the committee confidentially and individual anonymity will be assured," he wrote in his e-mail.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Saxe wrote, "Our goal is to collect student data [from focus groups] and hold the Town Hall before the end of the semester."

The committee's website has the option for providing feedback. Regarding the online feedback option, Saxe wrote in his campuswide e-mail, "We are particularly interested in your perceptions of drug and alcohol issues on campus and your thoughts about University policy. Again, all information will be shared anonymously."

"It's clearly not enough student participation in this process, but the committee is really working hard to kind of like get as much student participation as they feel comfortable with," Ben-Atar said.





-Fiona Lockyer contributed reporting.