The Colby Echo

Issue date: 9/9/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Rob Kievit

Following events that occurred during last May's "Champagne Steps" celebration, the Board of Trustees resolved at its annual Commencement meeting to terminate the celebration. In an Official Notice sent to the College community over the summer, President William D. Adams and Chair of the Board of Trustees Joseph F. Boulos '68 announced this resolution, along with a charge to the administration to "address comprehensively the broader issue of excessive drinking as a feature of Colby student life."

On May 9, the final day of classes in the 2007-2008 school year, a total of 17 students were treated for alcohol poisoning, including 14 visits to local hospitals, according to Dean of Students Jim Terhune.

History

Champagne Steps is a tradition dating back to the early 1990s in which seniors gather on the steps of Miller Library to commemorate the last day of classes. College mythology holds that this event was once a mild toast among students and professors; however, Adams said that if this claim was true, it was "only for a split second." According to Special Assistant to the President for External Relations Janice Kassman, "[…] there were never any faculty participating in the event."

By the early 2000s, the event was moved from noon to 4 p.m. due to concerns about student behavior and disruption of Friday classes. By that point, the event had taken on its current form, including a pre-Steps barbeque at the Alfond Senior Apartment Complex. The event is characterized by excessive drinking, followed by a mass run down the hill to the Miller Library. A previous tradition of swimming in Johnson Pond was also eliminated due to a series of injuries and concern about student behavior.

In 2006, the celebration took a different turn, with several student hospitalizations due to alcohol poisoning and confrontation with the local police, leading to the arrests of three students. According to Boulos, the 2006 Steps "really started the discussion in earnest among the Trustees. We started to look at the safety of the students, primarily, and also the liability to the College, due not only to what transpired in 2006 but also in earlier years."

Members of the Class of 2007 then took the initiative to ensure that Steps could continue for their class. Champagne was distributed only in cans, rather than glass bottles, and rubber mats were placed on the steps to help prevent injuries. Furthermore, seniors had to sign a pledge to behave or face serious consequences involving Commencement and related activities. Steps in 2007 "went better, but wasn't perfect," according to Adams, but was enough to allow the event to continue into 2008.

Continued...

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