Pubdate: Mon, 9 Oct 2000
Source: Blade, The (OH)
Copyright: 2000 The Blade
Contact:  541 North Superior St., Toledo OH 43660
Website: http://www.toledoblade.com/
Author: Ryan E. Smith, Blade Staff Writer

MORE COLLEGES TELLING PARENTS OF STUDENT DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE

If the University of Toledo adopts a rule to notify the parents of some
students who violate the school's drug and alcohol policy, it won't be
alone.

Since 1998, when Congress amended the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act, a growing number of colleges and universities nationwide have
implemented some type of parental notification policy, according to experts.

"It's growing," said Joel Epstein, director of special projects andsenior
attorney for the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug
Prevention in Newton, Mass. "I generally estimate that 70 to 75 per cent of
the nation's schools will adopt some form of parental notification [in the
next year or so]."

The details vary by institution, but the regulation under consideration by
UT is typical, he said. The proposal would notify the parents or guardians
of students under age 21 who violate the university's drug policy or who are
repeat offenders of its alcohol policy. Parents also would be told if a
student needed medical attention as a result of any violation.

The trustees last month postponed deciding the matter until student
government has an opportunity to provide input. The student senate is
expected to vote on the issue tomorrow. Scott Mattera, student government
president, said the group remains undecided. "People aren't jumping to
conclusions," he said.

University officials said they studied the policies of many similar
institutions first.

Ohio University officials said its parental notification program for
first-year students under 21 has decreased the number of drug and alcohol
offenses markedly. The university sent 124 letters to parents during its
first two academic quarters last year, with only eight for repeat offenses.

Had the rule been in effect the previous year, it would have resulted in 172
notices, Richard Carpinelli, assistant vice president for student affairs,
said.

The regulation, intended to aid a student's transition from high school to
college, takes effect with a student's first major offense with drugs or
alcohol and after a second minor offense. The university code of conduct
classifies offenses into the two categories.

After last year's pilot program and surveys completed by campus
constituencies, the policy was instituted this year on a permanent basis,
Mr. Carpinelli said.

It was not done without controversy, however.

"Our students did not appreciate it. The student senate was against it,"
said Melanie Johnston, 22, a senior at Ohio and vice president of the
senate.

While students could not argue with the data provided by the university on
the policy's effectiveness, there exists a more philosophical worry, she
said. "Our concerns were it took away from the students' basic rights," she
said.

Sue Carter, president of the Ohio American Civil Liberties Union, agrees.
"Right away when I see something like that, I think privacy," she said.

Though legal, Ms. Carter said, they make for bad public policy. "We send our
young adults, emancipated young adults, away to college to be grownups, and
then turn them over to their parents like they're 10-year-olds," she said.
"It sends a real mixed message."

Students at Bowling Green State University took no formal stand on the issue
when BGSU implemented its parental notification policy in November. Response
has been mixed, said Clint Gault, 21, vice chairman of the Ohio Council of
Student Governments.

"I guess it must have positive effects or Toledo wouldn't be doing it as
well, but I just think that I'm a big advocate for treating us like adults,
and we'll pay the consequences like adults," he said.

The parents of 51 students have been notified under the rule, with no repeat
offenders, BGSU officials said.

While there is not enough data to judge the policy's effectiveness,it
supports an institutional belief in a partnership between the university,
students, and parents, said Wanda Overland, assistant vice president for
student affairs and dean of students.

The same issues have prompted the University of Toledo to investigate such a
policy for its students, said Ed Willis, dean of students.

"I certainly emphasize we wanted it to be educational, but we also wanted it
to be preventative," he said. "We want to do everything to have them be
successful."
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