They definitely can. When alcohol or drugs are involved in a college sexual misconduct case, the issue that often will arise is the issue of consent, whether a person, say, was able to give consent or whether the other person was able to obtain consent. There's a difference between intoxication and incapacitation. If a person is incapacitated, they cannot give consent. If a person is intoxicated, they can give consent. Each school is going to have its own specific policies as to what constitutes intoxication versus incapacitation but alcohol and drugs, when they arise in a college sexual misconduct case, it's often in the instance of whether there was consent or not.
You need to have consent to be able to engage in intimate or sexual activity with another party. If you don't have consent and if you're found responsible for such allegations, the consequences can be and often are severe. You need to have an experienced attorney or advisor in your corner from as early as possible in the process to help protect your interest to help navigate these highly technical and nuanced considerations of consent to try to achieve a fair, favorable outcome.