This is the peak time for alcohol infractions at Boston University with 43 alcohol violations to date this year, according to BU Police Department crime logs.
A rise in violations is common at the beginning of any school year, BUPD Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire said.
Resident Assistants echoed St. Hilaire’s sentiments, and an RA in Warren Towers, who requested anonymity, said the beginning of the year is usually a time when a lot of students are caught violating alcohol policies.
School of Management sophomore Jill Wyvill said RAs have seemed stricter about enforcing the policy this year.
‘I know a lot more people having RAs knocking on their door for no reason or for unsound reasons,’ Wyvill said.
Wyvill said she has received two noise violations to date from RAs who were not able to find alcohol in her room when they suspected her of using alcohol.
‘If I get one more [noise violation], I could be kicked out of housing,’ Wyvill said. ‘No matter what, I’m guaranteed a fine.’
St. Hilaire said most underage students procure alcohol by asking someone who is at least 21 years old to buy it for them.
The BUPD has been cracking down on underage purchasing of alcohol in a number of ways, including placing plain-clothes officers in stores such as the Wine Press on South Campus, according to St. Hilaire.
St. Hilaire said one of the most common ways for BUPD to nab violators is to catch someone handing off alcohol once they leave a liquor store. In such cases, the minor is generally charged with minor in possession and the person of age is charged with procuring alcohol for a minor.
A CAS sophomore living in Warren Towers, who wished to remain anonymous, said she and five other friends under 21 were caught with alcohol in her room during the second week of school.
‘We were not loud,’ the student said. ‘The music was quiet they said they could smell the alcohol outside our room.’
The student said two RAs then searched the room, found alcohol, collected the students’ IDs and escorted them to the RA office, where the students were told to call their parents and inform them about what happened. They were all disciplined with penalties ranging from warnings to fines.
‘I got a $100 fine,’ the student said. ‘It was stupid for me to drink in my room, but I’m not going to stop doing it.’
That same weekend, Evan, a College of Communication freshman who refused to give his last name, went to an on-campus party.
After an RA broke it up and confiscated IDs, each of the students had to meet with the area directors of their respective buildings and received punishments ranging from warnings to fines, Evan said.
‘I wasn’t drinking, so I only got a warning,’ Evan said. ‘I got lucky. Everyone else there got fines and some were put on probation.’
Evan said he feels BU is much stricter when it comes to alcohol policy than other schools.
‘There needs to be a warning for first-time offenders,’ he said.
Wyvill said she also feels BU is far stricter then many other schools when it comes to alcohol policies.
‘Every other school, you have to be vomiting or dying to get in trouble,’ Wyvill said. ‘Here, if you and your roommate are just sitting in your room watching a movie, you’ll get a knock on your door from an RA.’