By Blake Hollingsworth | Staff Writer
Between February and April, the Baylor University Police Department issued multiple citations for underage possession and consumption of alcohol in residence halls like Martin, Brooks Flats, Collins and South Russell. The offenses — listed in the university’s public crime log — highlight the ongoing challenge of managing underage drinking in campus housing.
However, for Baylor’s Community Leaders, addressing alcohol violations is just one part of the job and not necessarily the most important one. According to Dr. Rob Engblom, senior associate director for Resident Learning, alcohol-related incidents have stayed fairly consistent in numbers in recent years.
Awareness of these situations often comes through CLs — students who live in the dorms and serve as a bridge between residents and university housing staff. While CLs are trained to recognize and report violations, Engblom emphasized that their primary role is building relationships and fostering community.
“We’re not out to write as many reports as possible,” he said. “We’re more focused on doing life with our residents and walking with them through the college experience.”
CLs undergo a nearly year-long training and selection process focused on servant leadership, relationship-building and crisis response, Engblom said.
Former Penland Hall CL Gabe Perez, who graduated last May, echoed this sentiment. He said he believes CLs can set themselves up to “build strong connections” with new residents by setting expectations from the get-go.
“I said, ‘I know you guys are coming in and seeing me as an authoritative figure, but really what I want to be is a friend and resource,’ because I know the first semester is really hard on people and it’s a tough transition,” he said.
Engblom said these close bonds between CLs and residents reduce the likelihood of offenses. Perez said the bonds he built with his residents made it easier to move on from situations involving discipline.
“The residents don’t resent you after that [discipline] because you already have that connection,” Perez said. “My relationships with students after writing them up were stronger because of those [difficult] conversations. They weren’t just looking at me as someone to avoid — they still looked at me as a resource and a friend.”
Perez told a personal story of how this approach changed his residents’ outlook on him. Initially, a few students had planned to pull pranks on him, but after getting to know him, they changed their minds.
“They told me, ‘After we saw how you treated us with respect and wanted to get to know us as a friend, we decided not to,’” Perez said.
Engblom said preventative efforts begin before the first day of class with students signing a housing contract agreeing to the Guide to Community Living. Residence halls also host meetings at the beginning of the semester to review policies, often with Baylor PD present to stress safety and responsibility.
When a policy violation like underage drinking occurs, it’s referred to Baylor’s Office of Student Conduct, which handles disciplinary decisions. Meanwhile, CLs and hall staff continue supporting students through follow-up check-ins and referrals to campus resources, Engblom said.
Baylor offers several support systems, including the Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center and the Care Team, for students who may need help beyond a single incident.
