MONDAY,AUGUST 16,2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 23A
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Parents on hook with new laws
BY AMELIA TRAUL
The Collegio — Pittsburg State
University
PITTSBURG — In Kansas, new penalties for underage drinking went into effect July 1, according to the Kansas Drunk Driving Prevention Office.
One big change is that parents caught giving alcoholic or cereal malt beverages on their property to a person under 18 will be charged with a class B misdemeanor, which carries a fine of $200.
Sgt. David Roughton of the Pittsburg Police Department welcomes the new law.
"Before this, we didn't have anything that would allow us to go after parents," he said. "It's always been a question in the past: Can a mom take her 14-year-old son to the bowling alley and give him some of their beer? The answer was 'yeah.' If you were at home and your mom gave you a beer on the couch in your house, we couldn't do anything about it."
Those under 21 caught drinking the first time will receive a 50-day suspension of their license. The second time, their license will be suspended for 90 days; subsequent offenses will warrant the license to be suspended for one year.
"The punishments may have a more deterent effect to parents and minors," said Roughton. "A minor that's going to drink won't understand until they get caught. Then they'll be less likely to do it knowing that the punishment is worse next time."
Another change this summer was the creation for vertical drivers' licenses for those under 21. Although these new licenses are harder to duplicate, Roughton says they might not prevent underage drinking in bars.
Survey uncovers drinking habits of students
BY ESZTER GORDON
Daily Collegian — Pennsylvania
State University
VIA U-Wire
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. About 9 percent of American adults have an alcohol abuse disorder, according to a recent nationwide survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institutes of Health questioned 43,000 adults about alcohol, drug and personality disorders to determine the cause of these behaviors. This is the largest such survey ever done on the topic.
Steve Shetler, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) addiction specialist at Pennsylvania State University, said the center helps students who are both dependent and abusers of alcohol.
The survey does not specify the ages of its participants, nor does it distinguish between those who are alcohol dependent and those who are abusers.
"An alcohol abuser is someone who practices behavior that has actual recurring negative consequences and does not alter their behavior but repeatedly returns to old behavior." Shetler said.
He added that a person with alcohol dependency or alcoholism is "someone who cannot control their drinking despite motivations otherwise."
Shetler said no statistics regarding the number of students seeking counseling for alcohol abuse currently exist at CAPS, but added that data might be available next year.
"We certainly try to accommodate anyone we can," he said. "My guess is that we're only see
Shetler said the students he counsels for alcohol abuse primarily begin drinking before coming to the University, but the problematic drinking habits are often developed at college. Students complain that the nighttime social scene at Penn State does not offer enough alternatives to drinking and students are not trying to become dependent on alcohol, he added.
ing the tip of the iceberg. Those who abuse [alcohol] are hard to locate ... they don't want to participate in any type of survey."
"People are looking at alcohol to enhance social life." Shelter said. "An [alcohol] abuser isn't looking for a problem."
Alcohol Intervention Program (AIP) director Diana Ramos said she believes alcohol abuse is taking place at the university because students are not fully aware of the consequences of drinking on
AIP is the program required for students cited for underage drinking at Penn State.
their bodies, behaviors and personalities.
"Students are experimenting with their identities and certain groups are more widely accepted and having fun," she said.
AIP employee Linda LaSalle said she believes the local social scene is inundated with alcohol abuse because it is associated with having fun during college life.
Ramos added there are many reasons why a person might abuse alcohol. For example, students may learn unhealthy attitudes regarding alcohol from within their family, she said.
Shetler said freshmen and sophomores are most at risk of developing an alcohol disorder while at college. Juniors and seniors might drink less because they already have established friendships, are trying to bring up their grades and are working or looking for a job, he said.
Ramos said men and women might use alcohol for different reasons. She said some women might drink alcohol to feel more assertive toward men, while in actuality they lose some of their assertiveness. Men who drink, however, might show more possessive behavior regarding women, which reinforces their "domineering" role in society, Ramos said.
Despite the survey's results showing that nearly one in 10 Americans abuse alcohol, a February 2004 Penn State Pulse survey found that about a third of students only drink between one and five drinks each week.
"Data shows that most of our students make smart, healthy decisions about their drinking," LaSalle said.
Nation's No.1 party school: new alcohol laws
BY DAVID CRENNEN
Colorado Daily—University of Colorado
Colorado
VIA U-WIRE
BOULDER, Colo. — In baseball, it's three strikes and you're out. But University of Colorado students are saying the university's new alcohol policy will not be as lenient as even the loosest major league umpire.
CU last April implemented a new "two-strikes" policy for student drinking violations. The modified enforcement plan looks much like the "three-strikes" policy that has been in effect for the previous four years, only with stricter punishments.
"I'm just glad I'm getting out of here because
Just as in the "three strikes" plan, one transgression results in a full semester's probation, along with any other punishments decided upon by a judicial affairs interview. The new policy, how-
who knows when I'll get my next strike."
University of Colorado senior
Katie Atkins
ever, differs in allowing possible suspension.
"If a student is already on probation and again found to be in simple violation of alcohol laws or policies, he or she will be subject to suspension from the university for at least one full semester," said Ron Stump, CU's vice chancellor for student affairs.
Students who violate alcohol laws or policies for the third time during the entire period of their enrollment, whether they are on
probation or not, can be suspended, according to Stump.
The university also warns the new plan does not limit it from doling out additional disciplinary actions as deemed appropriate for specific cases.
"We've never said, 'Don't drink, drinking's bad,' or any such thing, but if you can't abide by what are basically state laws, there are going to be repercussions," said Robert Maust, chair of CU's Standing Committee on Substance Abuse.
Maust predicts in reality it will not be that many.
Under the new rules, CU estimates that 300-400 students could be suspended each semester.
"When we implemented the three-strike policy, it was predicted that 100 students would be suspended a semester," he said. "We've never had to suspend more than 30."
Maust also asserts the change in policy is not due to the ongoing CU football scandal or the public image it created. Nor is it to CU's "number one party school" designation in last year's Princeton Review.
"This was an idea that truly came in its time," said Maust. "About 1,700 students a year have a single alcohol violation, which is interesting but very after the fact. We asked ourselves: 'What could we have done to educate more people earlier?'"
The education in question takes the form of the new, mandatory online alcohol education class required of all incoming freshmen.
One student, however, worries the change in drinking regulations will be detrimental to incoming students.
"People are going to be drinking more off campus," said sophomore Kelly Butler, "which is
really dangerous because freshmen will have to (find a way to) get back on campus."
Some students are less than optimistic over the potential results of the new policy.
"I'm just glad I'm getting out of here," said Katie Atkins, a senior psychology major, "because who knows when I'll get my next strike."
Vijay Venkatesh, a first-year graduate student, takes a more clinical view of the matter.
"I think it is fair," he said,
"Thew warn you up front."
"We're not talking about beer sniffing dogs," Maust said. "A lot of people drink in this community that we don't know are drinking, that we don't want to know about," he said. "The people who get punished are the people in some way calling attention to themselves."
Maust does provide one caveat to the new "two-strike" program.
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Prior to the reception, an Info Fair will be held in the Kansas Ballroom of the Kansas Union from 4 - 6 p.m.at which a variety of on-campus organizations, services and offices will host tables and disseminate information.Following the Info Fair. a reception for new and returning graduates and professional students hosted by the Kansas Alumni Association will be held across the street at the Adams Alumni Center from 6 - 8 p.m. Childcare will be provided.
The event is sponsored by the University of Kansas Graduate and Professional Association, The Alumni Association, the Graduate School and the Student Senate.
The reception will feature cocktails and appetizers as well as guest speakers including the Chancellor of the University, the Dean of the Graduate School,and the Mayor of Lawrence.
For more information, contact a GPA staff member at 864-4914, visit GPA's website: www.ukans.edu/~gpa or email GPA at : gpa@ku.edu
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