Chris Cavan’s friends from high school hid alcohol in their pockets and brought it up to his dorm room the first weekend of February.

Cavan, sophomore in mathematics and Friley Hall resident, said he wasn’t drinking, but there was an empty beer can on the desk when the community adviser knocked on the door about 2 a.m. because the music was loud.

“I had no excuse, I didn’t want to get my friends in trouble,” he said. “All the blame is on me. I took all the responsibility.”

A majority of alcohol violations within Fresh Start residence halls, this semester and last, have come from Cavan’s floor, Noble House in Friley Hall. Cavan and two others from his floor were asked to schedule a meeting with officials from the Department of Residence as a result of that night.

Six students, including Cavan and his floormates within the Fresh Start program, have been caught with alcohol this semester. Because the Fresh Start residence halls are zero tolerance, students caught drinking are asked to relocate.

Last semester, 19 students were relocated from the Fresh Start Program into other residence halls due to alcohol policy violations. Ten of those students were from Noble House in Friley Hall, said John Shertzer, residence life coordinator. “The only Fresh Start removals have been related to alcohol,” he said.

June Kim, Cavan’s roommate and freshman in liberal arts and sciences, was in the room when the community adviser found the alcohol. Kim is originally from South Korea.

“It was my first time drinking in Iowa,” he said. “I just came here a month ago.” Kim said he is old enough to drink in his country, but now that he is in the United States, he has to follow new rules.

Tiana Williams, residence hall coordinator, said she is not sure alcohol in the dorms is a problem.

“I don’t think more students are getting caught drinking,” she said. “Just because a student is documented for alcohol it doesn’t say they are a bad student.”

Shertzer said the Department of Residence is not doing anything specifically to help floors with high alcohol violations, but they do try to educate students about alcohol policies.

“We understand that students make mistakes,” he said. “We are wanting to work with students to educate them.”

In non-Fresh Start residence halls, resident assistants aren’t actively looking for alcohol, but if they do find students drinking underage they confront and document the situation.

This year, 282 alcohol violations in all residence halls have been reported, Shertzer said.

Students who are caught still have to go through judicial affairs and be educated on policies, but aren’t asked to leave, he said.

“Anytime underage students are caught, it’s taken seriously,” he said.

Dominique Lipscomb, junior in management and Friley Hall resident, has lived in the dorms for two years. Before the Fresh Start Program was implemented students could drink in the dorms, he said.

“This year people are stupid about drinking; the only way to get caught is to expose yourself to the situation,” he said.

Williams said everyone makes mistakes and students should learn from them. The judicial system is very fair, and everyone is granted due process, she said.

“It’s not a punitive system — it’s an educational process,” she said.

Steven Niederhauser, sophomore in engineering and Freeman Hall resident, is one of the 10 students caught drinking in a Fresh Start Program residence hall last semester. Niederhauser said he thinks resident assistants in Fresh Start Programs are looking for those drinking alcohol.

“I’m sure there’s a lot more that goes on, but doesn’t get caught,” he said.

Niederhauser said he likes living in Freeman Hall because everyone is more laid back., while the structure at Friley Hall is more “uptight.”

Last academic year, fewer than 10 students had their housing contracts terminated.

Grounds for terminating a contract would involve a major policy violation such as possession and use of weapons, assault or the ability to cause harm to self, others or the community, Shertzer said.

Of the three students whose housing contracts were terminated, two were weapons-related violations and one was an assault, he said.

Less serious policy violations are dealt with case by case by the Department of Residence and can involve underage drinking or drinking alcohol in restricted areas and illegal use of the Internet, Shertzer said.

When students are asked to leave a hall the remaining residents on the floor are informed of what has happened and questions are answered, he said.

“A lot of times, it requires education for the remaining students to help them understand why it needed to happen while being sensitive to the student who was asked to leave,” Shertzer said.