Punishment policy up to night receptionists
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It’s 2 a.m. on a Saturday and Grand River Avenue is crowded with stumbling students, some carrying heels and walking barefoot, some giving piggy-back rides and others leaning on friends for support.
But for about 16,000 MSU students who live in the residence halls, going home means handing an ID card through a slot in the door and getting past a night receptionist, a process that leaves some students questioning possible consequences.
Night receptionists are trained to assess a resident’s health when they enter a residence hall, said Charlie Thompson-Orsua, Residence Life assistant director for staff selection and training.
Staff members look for signs of alcohol poisoning including incoherency, confusion and inability to answer questions such as, “Where are you,” and “What is your room number,” said Natisha Adams, coordinator of the night receptionist program.
“It’s really a case-by-case basis,” she said.
If a student appears to be in immediate danger, or putting others in danger, police could be called, she said. If a student shows signs of alcohol poisoning, the mentors on duty are called, Adams said.
Mentors are trained to look at who the resident is with, whether they know who they are and if they are able to take care of themselves, Thompson-Orsua said. In a chain-of-command process that takes a few minutes, they decide whether to contact a hall director or assistant hall director, who would then decide whether to call the MSU Police Department or an ambulance, he said.
In the 2008-09 academic year, 572 total cases of alcohol-related incidents were reported in the dormitories, a decrease from 608 the year before, Residence Life director Paul Goldblatt said.
But some students, such as premedical freshman Jeffrey Karson, question whether the policies create dangerous alternatives. An underage student might choose another less safe option to avoid the possibility of getting busted in the dorms, he said.
“It’s ridiculous we have to fear coming into the dorms,” he said. “If (students) come home at least they’re going to be safer.”
Prenursing freshman Amanda Maher said she has heard stories of people being afraid to return to the dormitories after drinking.
“I definitely knew people that have stayed in sketchy places because they’re afraid to go back and get in trouble,” she said.
But Thompson-Orsua said the benefits of a check-in process outweigh the drawbacks. Residence Life staff members should watch for students, and having no system would destroy the idea of security, he said.
“There might be some consequence. I would prefer that to not having a security system where any person could come and go out of the dorms,” Thompson-Orsua said.
Night receptionists use discretion in allowing students to pass, communication senior and night receptionist Autumn Maison said. They receive 12 hours of training and are able to judge levels of intoxication, she said.
“It’s definitely just a level of common sense,” Maison said. “We’re all college students, too — we’ve seen it in our friends.”
Someone who hasn’t been drinking and can spot alcohol poisoning is better equipped to notice danger, said Kent Yaney, an emergency room resident at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital.
“If you can’t arouse them, it’s an emergency,” he said. “We were all in college, but it’s nothing to joke about.”
Commentary
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Chris
(09/21/09 8:17am)Report
I can’t believe after all these years that this policy has not changed. I was an RA on south campus in 1996-1999 and our residents used to refrain from calling 911 in an emergency because they were afraid of getting cited by police for MIP or other infractions.
One time I was on rounds and a resident was being taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning – I actually watched an MSU police officer write the incoherent (underage) student a ticket for MIP and put it in her back pocket while she was on the stretcher.
Situations like this made residents scared to call 911 way back then and apparently still are for the same reasons.
02 grad
(09/21/09 9:55am)Report
When I was a student from 98-02, plenty of drunken students came through at night, and the receptionists didn’t call the police unless they really thought a student was in danger. Any kid who gets an MIP because they have alcohol poisoning should be glad to be alive instead of mad about getting a ticket.
VaNessa Thompson
(09/21/09 9:58am)Report
As a former RA and Night Receptionist Coordinator, I realize that the residents are still making the same comments and the same mistakes. The Residence Life staff has saved an infinite amount of people from dying due to the Night Receptionists checking your IDs. Honestly, as long as you are a resident that is behaving respectfully, many times there is no problem. It just sounds like a whole bunch of underage residents whining that they are not as free as they thought they were going to be.
To be honest, many residents when they come to college do not know their alcohol tolerance. With that you need people that are going to help you know what that is. Your best friend helping you with the kegstand isn’t going to do that. But a Night Receptionist or RA who want to make sure that you wake up in the morning will do that. Not to mention what people do in the residence hall.
If MSU did not have Night Receptionists, then many things could happen that you would have to pay for. When people drink, most times they act stupid. People throwing up in the hall way. People breaking things. Guests urinating in the elevators. When these things happen, the residents are charged for it. So for a $15 bottle of liquor there is several thousand dollars in damages – all because you didn’t want someone at the door checking in IDs.
In the real world you don’t have people looking out for you, helping you become responsible citizens. Part of becoming responsible citizens is knowing your alcohol tolerance and knowing the consequences of your actions. People aren’t baby-sitting you; you have too much to drink and do not know how to handle it, YOU COULD DIE. Now swiping your ID doesn’t seem too big of a deal.
Die? Pay for things I didn’t do? or show my ID? It’s your decision.
Dmon
(09/21/09 11:58am)Report
Chris, I couldn’t agree with you more. So many students are scared to go back to the dorm, or more importantly, call 911 when their friend is in trouble, because they could get an MIP. There has been a specific circumstance where I should have called 911, but I did not because I was not 21 at the time. This needs to change if we are to protect our students
Lena
(09/21/09 3:01pm)Report
For once I agree on the side of the administration (and commenter VaNessa Thompson). Anyone who is afraid of the night receptionists should not be. They are the least of students concerns. After all, the night receptionists are students just like ourselves. In fact, they only intervene when the students’ health are clearly at risk or if a student is truly acting completely belligerent. My friends and I have come back from countless late nights, and never once has there been a problem. Just have your ID and show it…seriously? Even a student who is completely wasted can get around that without any harm done. Have some shred of common sense people!
tedman
(09/21/09 3:33pm)Report
Clearly MSU needs to put the students safety first and not be so gun ho about issuing MIP’s. If a student shows signs of alcohol poisoning simply call the ambulance. The cops are not neccessary
Former RA
(09/21/09 4:43pm)Report
For better or worse, it is policy that a cop come with the paramedic to ensure their safety in the situation, so that is how the cops become involved. As a former RA, I have seen instances where the cops give MIPs to kids being transported to the hospital, and where the do not. It is the cop’s discretion, and many do not simply because they don’t want to discourage kids from calling 911 in these instances.
Others illustrated this point well above, but RAs and Night Receps aren’t goig to call in the higher authorities unless necessary. And if it’s necessary, then safety should be the only concern and not whether the person gets an MIP or not.
Student
(09/21/09 7:04pm)Report
What a waste of tuition. Put in swipe cards for all of the doors and treat university students like adults. Jobs like night receptionist are a huge waste of money.
jeff
(09/21/09 7:21pm)Report
We should fire all of the night receptionists so we can buy the MSU police a new fleet of SUV’s for the coming winter…
agree with student
(09/21/09 8:41pm)Report
Students(most) are adults now. You should not to worry about ‘sneaking’ into your own dorm, and getting caught. If you are suffering from alcohol poisoning, you are not going to be able to even walk into the dorm. The ambulance would have been called long ago.
GRD
(09/22/09 1:23pm)Report
Night receptionist jobs ensure the safety and security of residents. It is still ILLEGAL to drink under the age of 21 in the united states. Respect of the law should come before “the college experience”. The average college student is becoming more irresponsible every year and turning “higher education” into a joke. NO ONE should be getting drunk enough to have an ambulance called. So if they do, thank god a school like MSU has these receptionist in place.
student
(09/22/09 2:49pm)Report
Many, many other schools do not have night receptionists and don’t seem to need to treat their students like children. And students get just as drunk at those schools, and deal with it accordingly.
Night receptionist
(09/23/09 1:27pm)Report
I would love if the State News would double check their information. I personally am one of the hated night receptionists, and I can say I’ve never had to have an ambulance called for someone.
To begin with, we do not undergo twelve hours of alcohol-level training. I went through basic compliance training (just like any other campus employee) and then went through a few hour training to discuss our policies and procedures. Approximately fifteen minutes of that was loosely focused on inebriation levels.
We are not experts on levels on intoxication. We are not looking for a reason to call the cops. It’s more paperwork for us. We are VERY lenient. As long as a resident passes their ID to me through the door and does not pass out or walk flat-out into a wall three feet away, they are fine. If a resident hands us their ID and we have to sign a guest in and they can not even answer the question of “what room do you live in?” to fill out a form, then we get a bit concerned.
Even if we notice someone looks dangerously intoxicated, we do not usually handle it. We pass it on to supervisors and mentors.
Believe me: I’ve seen all levels of intoxication. You are nothing special, and I am just doing my job. If someone is scared to come back to the dorm, they shouldn’t be. Don’t carry in a bottle of alcohol, give me your ID, be able to produce a vocal answer if I have to ask you a question, and have a great night.