CAFÉ (Community Awareness For Everyone) attracted students to last Friday’s coffeehouse by advertising its new “student-only” policy, which allowed participants to discuss drugs and alcohol without faculty or administrative supervision. Linda Griffith, Dean of CAMD and the faculty advisor for CAFÉ, said, “With the student-only policy, the student coordinators and I hoped to provide a more open and comfortable environment for students to express their candid thoughts on drugs and alcohol without the fear of faculty reaction.” Alexis Dawkins ’10, one of the senior student leaders of CAFÉ, said that the club plans to implement the student-only policy on future meetings when deemed necessary. She said, “We understand that it takes time to form trust between students and faculty, but we would eventually love to create an environment where students are comfortable enough to discuss issues such as drugs and alcohol with the faculty.” Friday’s forum kicked off with performances from the CAFÉ student coordinators, that portrayed Andover students in encounters with drugs and alcohol on campus. Student coordinators then divided participants into small groups for close discussions. Coordinators prepared a list of questions in advance to conduct sessions. Because the CAFÉ discussions encourages openness about drugs and alcohol, the exact conversations were confidential. Dominick Chang ’11 said, “I thought the discussion was very productive in the sense that with the absence of teachers, students were more comfortable in saying what was on their minds.” Samantha Craig ’12 said, “I think the presence of faculty in this particular meeting would have skewed the student responses, especially from sharing personal experiences or narratives.” Discussion topics included costs, effects, perceptions, and stereotypes tied to those who drink or do drugs on campus. Cameron Hastings ’12 said, “Since the issue of drugs and alcohol is such a sensitive matter and is generally regarded as somewhat taboo to talk about, I thought the student-only forum was a great opportunity for students to express or ask anything about the issue.” Dawkins said, “Drugs and alcohol have become more and more prevalent in student conversations. Issues involving drugs and alcohol have been discussed or at least observed by many students on campus and we thought it was a good time to finally address those issues.” CAFÉ student coordinators established a system of “ground rules” and the “Ouch, Oops” policy, both of which were intended to maintain confidentiality and respect among student participants. According to Dawkins, The ‘Ouch, Oops’ policy is a method used in groups to politely let someone know they have said something that offended or hurt you by saying ‘ouch’, or to apologize if you think you have said something that may have offended someone else by saying ‘oops.’ Andrew Mitchell ’11 said, “The forum was successful because students acknowledged and respected the views of one another, even if some opinions differed from their personal beliefs. “In a sense, the discussions were self-restricted. No one dropped any names nor bashed the administration,” he continued. Jack You ’10, another CAFÉ senior student leader, said the turnout for Friday’s meeting was impressive and that students remained at the forum for longer than was initially scheduled. To host the forum without faculty supervision, CAFÉ needed permission from Paul Murphy, Dean of Students. “The administration was very supportive and understanding of the need for confidentiality among students without faculty presence” said Griffith. CAFÉ was founded in 2006 to create venues for Andover students and faculty to gather several times a term and engage in dialogue. Topics addressed in previous CAFÉ meetings include the issue of class, interracial dating, and social life at Andover.
