Pubdate: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 Source: Athens Banner-Herald (GA) Copyright: 2002 Athens Newspapers Inc Contact: http://www.onlineathens.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1535 Author: Joseph M. Riley PARENTS NEED TO BE NOTIFIED OF STUDENT'S SUBSTANCE USE As a parent of two children who are currently attending college, I take exception to your (Nov. 15) editorial concerning UGA's new policy of notifying parents about drug and alcohol problems by students under the age of 21. UGA's first assumption that students of all ages are adults and should be treated as such is the first mistake it makes. The statistical data collected over the years concerning human behavior in any category that you choose constantly shows that people in the 25-and-under age group have the highest rate of misjudgment. That is the reason their insurance is higher, they have a higher accident rate, drug abuse rate, etc and so forth. The second mistake UGA makes, or maybe this is intentional, is it fails to acknowledge who is paying the bills for these students. You can bet your sweet bippy that, in most cases, it is not this so-called adult student. I feel quite certain I am not the only parent who would cut off the funds if I knew for a fact one of my students was spending them on drugs and alcohol instead of education. This is probably the primary motivator in their decision making process. After all, if Mom and Dad cut off the funds, where does this leave UGA? Joseph M. Riley Tignall - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager