On Dec. 12,
According to court documents, both were arrested in Parking Lot 44 of the UMass campus the night before, after police spotted McGowan drinking a Busch Light beer, and McCarthy was observed putting a 30 pack of Keystone Light beer into the trunk of a car.
The two were arraigned separately with each lasting about five minutes. Both McCarthy and McGowan elected to waive their right to counsel and a trial, and agreed to attend the West County Diversion Program.‘ ‘
The West County Diversion Program is a court-sanctioned alcohol rehabilitation program. Many of those arrested for underage possession of alcohol choose this option because if they successfully complete the program, their charges will be dismissed.‘ Conversely, if they did choose to go to trial, they could be convicted, and have a criminal record.
Many UMass students find themselves in such a position every year.
According to the UMass Police Department, 245 people were arrested on the UMass campus in 2007 for liquor law violations, which includes underage possession of alcohol, while the Amherst Police arrested 429 people for underage possession of alcohol alone last year, according to the Amherst town Web site.‘
Many of those charged elect to the West County Diversion Program, which Craig Hilliker ‘- a senior consultant at
Hilliker explained that those in the program undergo two four-hour sessions and one six-hour session, in which the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption are stressed.
He added that the court views
‘The court feels like they need to give kids education before they decide to put them in jail,’ said Hilliker. ‘They want to give the kid the opportunity to figure out how not to make the same mistake again.’
According to Hilliker, once someone completes the program, the charges for underage possession of alcohol will be dropped, although their record will still show that they were originally arrested. If a person is arrested for underage possession of alcohol a second time, they cannot go back to the
‘The court feels like they have exhausted their education option if a second arrest is made,’ Hilliker said. ‘At that point the person is put on more of a prosecution track.’
Many UMass students who are arrested for underage possession of alcohol also go through the University’s own alcohol rehabilitation program, called BASICS, or Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students.
According to Marisa Hebble, a counselor in the program, BASICS consists of two 50-minute sessions in which the student completes a questionnaire that shows how their drinking compares to other UMass students to see if their drinking habits pose a serious health risk, and discusses these findings with a counselor. A fee of $100 is charged to take BASICS for the first time, and $175 for the second.
Hebble explained that the goal of the BASICS program is not to eliminate college drinking, but rather to reduce the negative outcomes associated with high-risk drinking.
‘If a student comes in here having 10 hangovers a month and after their first session they only have six hangovers a month, that’s the kind of harm reduction we’re talking about,’ said Hebble.‘
UMass sophomore Benjamin Moriarty had to attend BASICS twice in his freshman year and had a different opinion.
‘It didn’t teach me anything I didn’t already know,’ Moriarty said.‘ ‘I guess if someone has a serious drinking problem, it could be helpful. I’m not one of those kids though, so for me it was just a big waste of time. The thing that made me really mad though was that I had to pay $275.’
Chris Russell can be reached at [email protected].