As the academic year begins, UNC Wilmington students will see changes in the university housing rules and regulations. Some of these changes are in the alcohol possession and consumption rules. The new policy alters when and where students 21 years of age and older are allowed to drink while living in on-campus housing areas.

Standards for student conduct across campus are written up in an official university document, the Code of Student Life. The conduct code is also connected to UNCW Housing and Residence Life through their standards outlined in the Guide for On-Campus Living. According to the Conduct page on UNCW’s website, in previous years, if an of-age resident was drinking in their common room at any time while their underage roommates were present, it was considered “encouraging and enabling” and all students involved would be automatically written up for disciplinary action.

“I thought that was pretty ridiculous,” said Allison Kelley, a junior transfer student living on campus. “If you are of the drinking age, you should be able to drink.”

This August, over 4,000 students moved into the university’s on-campus living areas. Of those students living on campus, 561 of them are 21 and over. With the popularity of the upperclassman housing such as the SeahawkVillage, Landing and Crossing areas, there is typically a mix of age groups within suites and apartments.

With the previous years’ rules, many students over 21 were getting written up simply because they lived with younger residents, even if the others were not participating in drinking as well.

“I think the new policy is a good change because it will allow for less people that can legally drink to get in trouble,” said sophomore Kelsey Gilmore. “Since the law says they can drink, older students should be able to do so in the comfort of their own apartment.“

Many agreed that the rules were unfair, which lead to this year’s change in the conduct code. Assistant Director of Housing, Uchenna Baker believed the policy to be unrealistic. 

“We found that it wasn’t realistic to say for someone of age to just be drinking in their bedroom because there are situations—lets say they are watching a game and they want to have a beer—the rules didn’t mirror the way our students really live their lives so we were almost setting them up to violate the policy by being so specific about the space in which they can consume,” said Baker.

The university housing staff view the new rules as more positive and more realistic than the previous policy.

“Rather than the student who’s of legal age possessing and consuming in the confines of their bedroom, now they can possess and consume within the confines of their living unit,” said Housing and Residence Life Director, Brad Reid. “That gives them the ability to come out into the living area, dining area, the kitchen.”

“Students still need to make sure they are creating safe environments for the people around them, so that hasn’t changed,” said Baker on how the policy still emphasizes responsible drinking. “It’s a language change to really fit what was realistic for what our students were experiencing.”

J’aime Davies, a resident assistant for the Village, an upperclassman apartment-style residence area, believes that by changing the rules to give those over 21 more freedom, the university is showing more faith in its students to make smart decisions.

“I definitely think it’s a good change, if not only for the fact that it shows trust,” said Davies. “We’re giving you that amount of trust to say we think you can drink responsibly in front of your roommates.”