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Adrian Tamas
CCSD: 543
Dr. Chris Collins
Alcohol on Campus. Some leading college and university presidents are calling for a
national dialogue to consider lowering the legal drinking age to 18. Most
colleges and universities struggle with legal and liability issues related to alcohol use
and abuse among students. What are the recent trends in (1) the law and (2)
institutional practices that represent attempts to address this problem?
What is your personal evaluation of these efforts in terms of their legality and
potential for effectiveness? What do you think of the efforts to lower the
drinking age? What further changes would you recommend in the law or in
institutional practices to assist public institutions in their efforts to deal with the
alcohol culture of college students?
The Amethyst Initiative is a movement that started in 2008, and recruited
presidents from major universities that believe the current drinking age does not work,
and are interested in having an open dialogue about other options. Whenever the drinking
age comes into questions, the argument is made that 18 year olds can vote, enlist in the
military potentially putting their life on the line, but are not able to have a beer. It is
important to look at the issue from many perspectives, and the idea that the current
system does not work and open dialogue is needed has its merits. The drinking age in the
United States is among the highest in the world, yet binge drinking among those under
the age of 21 is prevalent. (Wechsler & Nelson, 2001)
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required that all states raise
their minimum age for public possession and purchase of alcohol to 21. States that did
not comply would receive a reduction in highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid
Act. Although, all states comply with the federally mandated drinking age of 21, many of
them have exceptions. (Hanson, 2013) California for example does not prohibit
consumption, but it does prohibit possession, and purchase for anybody under the age of
21. This explains why some university can be “wet” while others are “dry” campuses,
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leaving it to the discretion of the administration. I attended University of California San
Diego and it was labeled a wet campus. There were a few places on campus where
alcohol was sold, no hard liquor, however. Students still have to be 21 to purchase
alcohol, and to have it in their on campus apartment. When Resident Assistants, or the
police staff document instances of underage drinking, students are not arrested because
consumption is not illegal. This seems to be a popular misconception among the public.
The president emeritus of Middlebury College, created the organization Choose
Responsibility to create discussion and debate about how best to reduce alcohol abuse. It
is no secret that alcohol abuse on college campuses is problematic, with 40% of college
students reporting some form of alcohol abuse or dependence. (Pope, 2008) One of the
organization’s suggestions is a detailed certification program similar to driver’s
education. In order to be certified participants have to enroll in a course that consists of at
least 40 hours of classroom education, as well as outside of classroom sessions of
community involvements, visiting DWI courts hearings, and learn about safe ride taxi
programs. They would be instructed by a certified alcohol educator that is trained to
cover the legal, ethical, health and safety issues of the curriculum and is skilled in dealing
with young adults. (Hanson, 2013) A license would only be provided after participants
passed an examination on all the subjects learned while enrolled in the program.
Many students are never taught about the dangers of alcohol consumption, or how
much alcohol one needs to consume for it to be considered binge drinking. They also
have no experience and do not know their limits. Alcohol education happens during
college, however, it is not a mandated course. Unfortunately many believe that alcohol
education about safe consumption will increase the number of people drinking. The
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phrase most often used during college was that there is nothing anybody can do to stop
students from drinking. If they want to drink, they will find away. However, it is vital that
they know the dangers of alcohol and know when to stop, and are able to identify binge
drinking in their peers and are prepared to address it if necessary. As a Resident
Assistant, I had training that dealt with these issues and in turn I facilitated programs for
my residents on the same topic. However, not everybody attends programming events. It
is vital that colleges and universities alike implement an alcohol education course as part
of their general education requirements. It does not need to be comparable to an upper
division course. It can be a freshman seminar that consists of four meeting times. I was
personally more aware and drank more responsibly after my training and I also felt a
responsibility to look out for my peer’s safety as well.
Lowering the drinking age is a controversial topic, especially when passionate
groups get involved that can appeal to emotions and are able to show examples of
tragedies caused by alcohol. Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) condemned the
Amethyst Initiative’s position claiming that lowering the drinking age will cause a higher
rate of intoxicated driving, as well as more fatal accidents. However, research on this is
not available and will not be available unless the drinking age is lowered and the effects
of it are studied. But doing so would be a gamble that not many want to make. If
lowering the drinking age does not increase fatalities related to alcohol consumptions, the
research was a success, however, if they increase that would be an extreme risk. Innocent
lives are not something that should be gambled with.
During high school, we had a program that happened every two years that was
sponsored by MADD and involved the police department, paramedics and the fire
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department. Students would sign up to be part of the skit. Throughout the day, names
would be read over the speakers and we would be told that person died because of a
drunk driving accident. According to MADD (madd, 2013) every 53 minutes a death
results from an alcohol related incident. Those students would stop talking for the rest of
the day. At the end of the school day, the street in front of the school was blocked off and
two crashed cars were set up. Police, paramedics and fire fighters were there, and some
students were acting in the skit. It was extremely powerful. It even involved families of
those students and everybody treated it like a real death. It was emotional and powerful
and had a great affect on students. However, what that program thought the students, was
not to drink. It is understandable because we were minors, however, abstinence education
is relatively unsuccessful. I went to college knowing nothing about alcohol, other than the
fact that it is bad and I should not consume it. Yet, adults continued to consume alcohol,
so it definitely created some confusion.
Alcohol education in high school might scare some parents, but it is important for
younger students to know the dangers as well as safe consumption of alcohol. We know
high school students consume alcohol, which proves the importance of education. The
responsibility should not only be on colleges and universities because although many
students come to college with no alcohol experiences, many have been drinking from a
young age and most of the time irresponsibility, in part because of its illegality. When
parents and schools work together to explain consequences, as well as educate students
on safely consuming alcohol, it takes away from the allure. Students will be more likely
to talk to their parents and educators about their drinking because there would be no
stigma or fear of being punished. When parents and students can have open dialogue, it is
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more likely that alcohol will be handled more responsibly. Education then becomes a lot
more important than lowering the drinking age, and when young adults, and adults alike
know the dangers and safe practices of drinking and are able to have open dialogue on the
topic, the drinking age debate becomes a lot less important.
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Social Networking. Evaluate the growing trends of online social networking among
college and university students. What legal issues are emerging related to student
privacy, student safety, and ethics? How does social networking facilitate student
development? How does it hinder it? If you were to design an
educational program for college freshmen related to the legal aspects of social
networking, what would be the primary things you would want them to know?
Social networking is now part of every day life and the age of those that have a
facebook, instagram, or twitter account is lowering every year. Because of the boom in
the smartphone market, it is even easier to stay connected through these different
websites and applications. It then becomes an extension of our identity expression in a
very public, and permanent way. Because social networking is relatively new, many do
not understand the implications of expressing themselves on the Internet. Many students
still believe that if they make their profile private, their information will not be public.
Anything posted on the internet qualifies as public information, and many students learn
this the hard way. Issues arise when schools are unsure of how to react to students’ online
postings that happen off campus. Students’ right to free speech still applies but to what
extent, and should there be a different set of rules when it comes to online speech?
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School district, is the precedent used when
dealing with social media related court cases, however, many argue that the case is
entirely different and the same rules should not be applied in the case of social media free
speech court cases. In Tinker v. Des Moines, the courts ruled that students who wore
black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War should be allowed to do so, because is part
of their free speech under the first amendment. The court did not find that act to be
disruptive to the learning environment and therefore ruled in favor of Tinker. “But that
precedent, which addressed on-campus speech, is often now being applied to students’
off-campus online speech four decades later — a conclusion that some lower courts have
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said is out of touch with today’s reality.” (Kravets, 2012) In a court case in 2010,
Layshock v. Hermitage School District, about a student that used a social network fake
profile to mock his principal the court ruled in favor of the student on First Amendment
rights. However, the court upheld the ten-day suspension given to him by the school
district claiming that the school did not violate his due process rights. While in another
case, Snyder v. Blue Mountain School District, the same 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals,
with a different set of judges, ruled that the school over reacted and violated another
students first amendment rights. Tinker was cited in both cases. The court ruled that the
off campus online posting did not interfere with the teaching environment on campus
therefore the student’s First Amendment rights were violated. The court also referred to a
previous case, Shelton v. Tucker that states that “[t]he vigilant protection of constitutional
freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools.” (Shelton v.
Tucker, 1960)
It is important to point out that Internet postings live on forever and have a greater
audience and reach as opposed to verbal free speech that might reach a minimal number
of people and does not live on forever, unless recorded. It is this distinction that muddles
the waters, and although online postings are protected under free speech, students need to
be more careful about what they post online. Many schools and employers do online
searches of their candidates, before offering interviews or employment. What they find
online can often be problematic, and in direct conflict with their interest, which in turn
will compel them to dismiss that particular candidate. Had they not had access to that
particular information, they would have had to make their decision based on their
interactions during the interview process and the information provided on the cover letter
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and resume. Although, free speech is protected by the first amendment, it does not
guarantee the absence of consequences.
When students post pictures of themselves drinking alcohol, schools can in fact
use those pictures to discipline the student because it offers visual proof of the student
breaking a policy. A man was arrested after he liked and shared a picture of himself
tagging a police car, on the Huntington Police Department’s Facebook page. (Gallegos,
2013) This again, proves that anything on the Internet is public information; no matter
how many privacy precautions one might take. If somebody can get to that information
online, it can be used against the person posting it and it is admissible in court.
Social networking facilitates student development because it allows for easier
interaction between peers and easy access to information. At the same time, it hinders
development in that it limits physical interaction that facilitates a different form of
development. When it comes to ethics, and respect, it is a lot easier to make comments
that might hurt others, online because there are no consequences. The person posting
something inflammatory does not see the immediate damage caused by their words.
However, when those same words are said in public, the pain caused can be witness in
the other person’s reaction. Students then learn what is acceptable and what is not. Social
networking reaction creates greater detachment from others, even though it also makes it
easier to keep in touch and communicate with people. Communicating via text as
opposed to speech is also different. Text does not convey an emotion, although
sometimes some people read into it and arguments ensue, although the person on the
other end did not write with a particular tone or attitude. However students can still learn
a lot online that can facilitate their development, beginning with their access to unlimited
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information. For example, I am constantly exposed to different articles dealing with every
topic possible, via my Facebook newsfeed. Reading these articles and the comments
facilitates my development. However, social interaction, and discussion of such topics in
person allows for a more in depth understanding of the topic at hand.
When designing a program on legal aspects of social networking for college
freshmen, it is important to reiterate the fact that anything they post online is public
information. All this information is saved and compiled on various servers and it can be
easily accessible by government agencies, private companies, as well as colleges and
universities. Therefore, it is in their best interest to consider the implications of anything
they might post online. If it is something they do not want to be associated with from a
specific angle, they might not want to post it. Freedom of expression is important, but we
make the same decisions in our every day lives in physical interactions. Nobody would
think it a good idea to show up to a job interview intoxicated. Why then, would it be
acceptable to post videos of them intoxicated online, where potential employers can
access it? Social networking allows for the world to have a much better understanding of
a person without actually ever meeting them in person or interacting with them. As a
result, it can potentially prevent others from wanting to interact with an individual based
on their perception they gained from their public Facebook profile. Students might act
completely different in real life, but their online postings create a different persona. For
example if a person rarely drinks, but every time they drink pictures of those events end
up on Facebook, they might be seen as a heavy drinker, which can create potential
problems in the future for them. The most important point to make when educating
students on social networking issues is to be careful what they share under the false
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assumption that it is private. As terrifying as it sounds, nothing on the Internet is private,
and online postings can and will affect their lives in the future, therefore they should
think twice before posting anything online.
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References
Gallegos, E. G. (2013) Whoops! surf city riot suspect arrested after 'liking' his own photo
on police Facebook page, laist, Retrieved October 31, 2013 from
http://laist.com/2013/08/17/rioting_bro_outs_himself_on_social.php
Hanson, J. (1997-2013) Minimum legal drinking ages around the world, Alcohol
Problems and Solutions, Retrieved on October 28, 2013 from
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html#.UnAnk5TwJvY
Kravets, D. (2012) Supreme Court rejects student social media cases, Wired, Retrieved
October 28, 2013 from http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/scotusstudent-social-media/
Pempek T. A., Yermolayeva Y. A., & Calvert S. L., (2009) College students' social
networking experiences on Facebook, Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology, Volume 30, Issue 3, May–June 2009, Pages 227–238
Pope, J. (2008) College presidents want lower drinking age, USA Today, Retrieved on
October 28, 2013 from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-0818-college-drinking_N.htm
Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969) Retrieved October 29, 2013 from
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/firstamendment/tinker.html
Wechsler, H., Nelson ,T. F. (2001) Binge drinking and the American college student:
What's five drinks? Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 15, No. 4, 287-291