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