For students at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, off-campus parties will no longer offer autonomy from school sanctions âÄî a shift from the behavioral independence college students often desire. Starting this fall, a new protocol approved May 15 will empower Minnesota-Duluth police to conduct weekly searches through police reports to indentify off-campus alcohol violations from UMD students ages 18 to 24, Minnesota-Duluth police director Anne Peterson said. A chemical health educator will review studentsâÄô violation records, and students with multiple violations âÄî on and off campus âÄî will pay $150 for a chemical dependency assessment if deemed necessary. Depending on the results of the assessment, students may have to pay for mandatory alcohol counseling, which may be covered by insurance. The school may contact the studentâÄôs parents as well, UMD chemical health educator Lauretta Perry said. Peterson said 14 students, 10 from UMD, were hospitalized due to alcohol related illnesses in Duluth during the 2008-09 academic year. Most of these students were underage, she said. The protocol is meant to alert the University to students that may have dependency issues, Perry said. âÄúItâÄôs not about going on a witch hunt for students that have alcohol related violations,âÄù Perry said. âÄúItâÄôs about looking for students that may have a problem.âÄù Perry, a member of the UMDâÄôs Chemical Health Advisory Committee, which constructed the policy, said the University is not trying to be a âÄúBig Brother.âÄù âÄúOur goal is not to eliminate student drinking,âÄù Perry said. âÄú[It is] is for students to be more aware of their actions âÄî and each otherâÄôs.âÄù Complaints of student behavior from the Duluth community drove Minnesota-Duluth chancellor Kathryn Martin to commission the Chemical Health Advisory Committee to search for the best off-campus alcohol practices across the country, Perry said. The eight-month project included two representatives from the Student Association and several Duluth police officers, Perry said. Perry said the committee took chunks of alcohol policies from schools around the country and drafted the protocol, which Martin, Minnesota-DuluthâÄôs legal counsel and the Student Association approved. However, approval from the student association was not necessary in enacting the policy. Parties can be a problem for neighborhoods near campus, but more and more leases are including clauses against loud parties, according to Vladimir Skirda, a real estate agent for Messina & Associates, Inc. , which manages around 25 off-campus student houses. He said that small parties are acceptable at his companyâÄôs properties, but they have a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol if police get involved. âÄúThey are subject to eviction at that point,âÄù Skirda said. âÄúIn our lease itâÄôs purposely said that there should be no [large] parties.âÄù But some students said the University is trying to act like parents, UMD student Charlie Burgin said. âÄúItâÄôs like getting punished twice,âÄù Burgin said. âÄúItâÄôs not really their place if weâÄôre off campus

âÄòPhilosophical DifferencesâÄô

Minnesota-DuluthâÄôs protocol is one of several substance policies the University has experimented with in the past few years âÄî policies the Twin Cities campus rejected. âÄúThere are some philosophical differences between the two campuses,âÄù University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said . The Twin Cities campus already imposes disciplinary action for off-campus citations, but does not actively search for them. âÄúNobody has the time,âÄù Boynton Health Service spokesman Dave Golden said. âÄúI donâÄôt think thatâÄôs ever been discussed.âÄù The student conduct code was expanded after the 2002 Hockey Riots to allow the University to punish students violating the student conduct code off-campus, Miner said. The revised code was used to determine punishment for students involved in the Spring Jam Riot in Dinkytown. Vice Provost for Student Affairs Jerry Reinhart reviews incident reports sent by Minneapolis and University of Minnesota police to decide whether to refer students to the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity , which can impose sanctions against the students. Sanctions range from a warning to suspensions, probation, free chemical health assessments or community service, Assistant Director of the Office of Student Affairs and Academic Integrity Amy Barsness said . The University of Minnesota-Duluth enacted a campus-wide smoking ban during the 2008-09 academic year and approved a new policy last year that gives students who report alcohol-related medical problems to police âÄî such as alcohol overdose âÄî amnesty from punishment. The University of Minnesota- Twin Cities considered enacting similar medical amnesty and smoking ban policies, but decided against them, Golden said. âÄúThe University takes into account the successes or failures [of policies from] other campuses,âÄù Golden said. âÄúWeâÄôre always watching how policies turn out.âÄù About 50 students received medical treatment for alcohol related illnesses last academic year, he said. âÄúI think the vast majority of students make good decisions while drinking,âÄù Golden said. âÄúMost students donâÄôt want to get sick, most students donâÄôt want to get in a fight, or be assaulted or assault somebody else.âÄù