There are a few things teenagers get to take advantage of when they leave home for college. In most cases, some important ones are being taken away from overly protective parents: enjoying independence and ultimately growing up.
The only problem with removing teens from their overprotective homes is that some begin to misuse this freedom. Underage drinking is one major example of how many teens misuse their freedom in universities all over the country. A fair amount of underage drinkers are binge drinkers, and represent the worst of the problem. Studies have found that more than 40 percent of college students have had at least one experience with alcohol abuse.
For years, university deans and administrators have looked for ways to curb the amount of underage drinking on their campuses and the problems that come with it. Recently, Virginia Tech took a stab at the problem by involving parents.
This semester the university is notifying parents whenever their underage child is found guilty of a major or minor alcohol violation. In previous semesters, Virginia Tech implemented the three strikes system — students get a strike for a minor alcohol violation and two for a major one. After three strikes a student is suspended for at least one semester.
Most schools — like Cal State Long Beach — use the three strikes system as well, but a bit differently. Unlike Virginia Tech, at CSULB when a student gets an alcohol violation the first time, they get a write-up and have to report to an alcohol abuse center like the one we have on campus, Alcohol Tobacco & Other Drugs (ATOD). After a student’s second write-up they have to report to an ATOD counselor again and the student could face suspension from school. On the third write-up, the student is then kicked out of on-campus residential housing and faces registration suspension for at least a semester.
Virginia Tech is popularizing a punishment method that completely invades the privacy of college students. Most students starting college are about 18 years of age, which means constitutionally they are adults. At age 18, students have the right to vote and claim themselves as independent. When 18-year-olds are arrested their parents are not notified; it is their own business and their own mistake. Why should college be any different?
Virginia Tech sending letters home is reminiscent of high schools calling home when a student doesn’t show up for class. Some people come to college knowing they will make mistakes, but part of the college experience is learning how to correct them.
If a student started college at the typical age of 18 their parents would be notified about even the smallest digressions — like finding a beer on the floor of a dorm room — until they are 21.
Finding a way to end the drinking problems on campus is always going to be a challenge. A 21-year-old age requirement in order to enroll in college will not be imposed on potential freshmen and the drinking age will not be changed to 18. Since these requirements are not going to be implemented, administrators need to find other ways to handle alcohol violations while still respecting the notion that a student should be treated like an adult even if they are under the drinking age.
We’re not condoning underage drinking, but Virginia Tech has crossed the line. They have found a seemingly quick fix to a large problem, but is this reckless fix worth the freedom to err? We say no.