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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