9:13 – Raj closes the forum, notes that we can continue to talk about this on the weekend, where “he’ll see [us] out there.”  Thanks, Raj.  We’re all done here.  Thanks to The Indicator, AmhPub, Raj, our panelists, and everyone who helped put this together.  Good night, Amherst.

9:11 — Carter wants the disciplinary referrals to be thought of as opportunities to get students help and ensure that they are successful in the future.  Krull agrees.  Lieber commends us for starting the discussion and is “heartened” by our nuanced understanding of the issue.  Once again, the primary concern is our safety.

9:09 — After a query about raising the drinking age, we’re on to closing statements from the panelists.

9:05 — Kegs v. Punch Bowls v. Solo Cups.  Counting drinks is hard, we note.

8:57 – “The College does not want to hand you your social life on a platter!” - Lieber.  Well, as long as they still hand us our scrod on our Val trays then I’m cool.

8:53 – We’re talking about drinking and sexual harassment.  Krull is an expert on this - that’s one of her main duties at Amherst - and Carter agrees that it’s a major problem.  Is the culture an issue?  Can we change it?  Questions are bouncing around about who and how.

8:46 — Lieber says that the Residential Master Plan tried to even out the social space, but was not intended to cut down on partying.  Actually, Hamilton was intended for partying but they don’t know if students have started partying there.  Lieber wants us to live-blog about it.

8:41 — Question about the common space reduction in the Triangle and its effects on drinking at Amherst.  Lieber doesn’t think it’s a space issue, but acknowledges that parties behind closed doors are much less likely to get broken up.

8:33 – And we’re on to a question and answer session.  We get a few questions about the 21 year old age law and its effect on safety of young people.  By the way, there are about 50 students in attendance.  Krull notes that her generation did not have beer pong.  Biggest laugh of the night so far.

8:25 — Krull is last.  She meets with all students written up for underage violations of alcohol and drug-related law.  Though Dean Hart also has a meeting with these students, she stresses that her sessions are confidential and for the benefit of the students.  She admits the strategy is to balance obeying the law versus dealing with the unavoidable fact that students will break it.  Strive for .05!

8:19 — Carter is discussing the enforcement of under-age drinking at Amherst.  Interestingly, Campus Police can arrest students for drinking underage, but they almost always choose not to.  There is no discretion for kegs on campus; they just take those away.  The issue with kegs is that it’s tough for students to measure their intake, which leads to unsafe situations.

8:13 — Lieber thinks that the Amethyst Initiative is “quixotic,” but agrees that the issue is ongoing and present at every college.  The first concern of Amherst - I expect Carter and Krull to agree wholeheartedly - is the safety of its students.

8:11 – Lieber starts off.  He’s giving a brief history of the 21-year-old drinking age.  Apparently Louisiana was the last state to adopt it.  Lieber notes that the drinking age at colleges is essentially unenforceable, because 21 splits the campus into of-age and under-age.

8:08 — And we’re off!  Sam Grausz ‘09 from AmhPub introduces the event and hands it off Raj Borsellino ‘09E, Vice-President of AAS.  Raj introduces Dean Ben Lieber, Chief of Campus Police John Carter, and Assistant Director of Health Education Gretchen Krull.  We’ll be referring to them by last name from now on.

8:05 — The panelists have taken their seats.  Looks like we’re waiting for the last few stragglers to filter in.

7:59 — People are taking their seats.  We’re live, blogging from the Cole Assembly Room (aka the Red Room) in Converse Hall.  Seating capacity: 133.

As promised, we’ll be live-blogging the big forum tonight.  Consider this thread an open one.  I believe - Sam Grausz can correct me if I’m wrong - that your comments, questions or concerns in this thread may be addressed live at the forum.  Additionally, any posts you write about the forum during or after the event will be featured on AmhPub.  International fame!  Don’t believe me?  Actually, we get over 10% of our traffic from other countries.  So there.