PARENTS MAY GET WORD IF COLLEGE STUDENTS ERR

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. When it comes to college, Mom and Dad often pay the
bills and Junior has the fun, partying without having to worry about a
scolding for staying out too late or drinking too much. Now, Junior
may have to start worrying.

Congress amended federal confidentiality laws last year to give
universities the option of telling parents when students under 21
violate campus codes on drugs or alcohol.

Some schools -- including the University of Delaware, Indiana
University, Penn State and most colleges in Virginia -- have already
put notification policies in place.

Others -- like the huge University of California system -- have to
deal with strict state privacy laws that prevent them from telling
parents about student misbehavior unless the student's safety is threatened.

But most colleges and universities across the country -- including the
University of Illinois -- are still debating whether to take advantage
of the change.

"Nationally, campuses find themselves in a dilemma. The public
expectation is that students will graduate with good grades, get good
jobs and do so in a safe environment," said Nancy Schulte, the
coordinator of drug education services at George Mason University in
Virginia who has also served on national alcohol task forces.

"Universities are trying to balance taking care of students, knowing
that they also have to establish their own independence and take
responsibility for their own actions," she said.

As administrators work to shape the University of Illinois' policy,
they know where students stand on parental notification -- firmly against it.

A recent advisory referendum asked the university's students if the
college should notify parents of students who break alcohol and drug
codes. More than 5,800 students voted against the idea and 1,211 voted
for it -- the highest turnout for a student election in at least 10
years.

"Students have a right to live here free of the possibility of having
their mommy and daddy called," said student government president Jeff
Shapiro.

"This law is absolutely a violation of the privacy of students," he
said.

Typically, administrators have contacted parents only when drinking or
drug use led to death or serious injury.

Five alcohol-related deaths on campuses in Virginia led Sen. John W.
Warner from that state to push the amendment last year that cleared
the way for colleges to notify parents of any drug or alcohol
infraction by an underage student.

At the most basic level, universities have to decide when to put in a
call to a mother or father. Every time an underage student is caught
with a beer? Only when a student drinks so much that he ends up in the
hospital? Or some fuzzy point in between?

At the University of Delaware, administrators decided to share with
parents all information concerning students who had been found guilty
of violating campus code -- from sexual assault to academic dishonesty
to underage drinking. Under the policy, students with three alcohol or
drug violations are suspended from campus.

In the two years since the get-tough procedures have been in place,
the University of Delaware has seen dramatic improvements in what once
was a serious problem with campus alcohol abuse, said Tim Brooks, the
university's dean of students.

Vandalism in residence halls is down, along with the number of alcohol
overdoses that led to hospitalization, the number of students who
binge drink and the campus judicial caseload.

Brooks said some parents handle the problem just by talking to their
children, while others have insisted their son or daughter get
counseling or enter a rehabilitation program.

"Parents really appreciate what we are doing. As a whole, parents are
very concerned about their sons' and daughters' potential for alcohol
and drug abuse. They really want to know if something is going on, and
if it is they want to be part of the team to try to rectify the
situation," he said.

Sheldon Steinbach, general counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based
American Council on Education, said most colleges and universities are
still trying to decide how to handle the option of parental
notification.

"This provision gives institutions another arrow in their quiver in
dealing with alcohol and drug abuse on campus," he said. "Only time
will tell how much it helps."