Washington State Adding Friday Classes And Calling Parents To Combat Binge Drinking

Dillon Cheverere13 years ago

From The Spokesman-Review:

Washington State University will take new steps to try to reduce binge drinking and drug use by students, including scheduling more Friday morning classes and notifying parents if an underage student is caught drinking or using drugs, university officials announced Monday.

More like Washington State High School. Right, guys?

This certainly seems like pretty drastic measures to take to attempt combatting underage and binge drinking on a college campus. It may shed some light on how this decision transpired after learning that a WSU student died from alcohol poisoning in October. That’s a sad deal, obviously, but would an 8am Friday class or the threat of Dad getting a call at work about his kid getting caught with a case of beer or a spliff have prevented it? I don’t know, but it seems unlikely.

The WSU administration thinks it could help, and they have research to back it up.

“Robust research shows that parents can have a significant influence on their children’s drinking habits,” said Melynda Huskey, WSU dean of students. “Rather than using parental notification as a scare tactic, we view it as an opportunity to involve parents in the process of reducing harm.”

[…]

A 2007 study by the University of Missouri found that students were more likely to binge on Thursday nights if they didn’t have classes on Friday.

There’s an earth-shattering revelation if I’ve ever seen one.

So, how would your dad react if he got a call from a school administrator saying you were caught with alcohol…while in college?

School Admin: “Sir, I regret to inform you that your son is currently sitting in my office. He was found walking across campus with a bottle of bourbon this morning.”

Dad: “What?! Really? You’ve got to be joking. You talking about Charlie? Unbelievable! He’s in third grade! The little shit is like 10 years old. How’d he get his hands on hard liquor? It makes me wonder what kind of hoodlums go to that school.”

School Admin: “Oh, I’m sorry sir. I didn’t realize you had more than one son. I’m actually talking about Christopher. I’m calling from Washington State University.”

Dad: “Oh, but Chris is in college…”

School Admin: “I understand that, but Christopher is a minor.”

Dad: “College.”

School Admin: “Right.”

Dad: “Right.”

School Admin: “Have a good day, sir.”

[via The Spokesman-Review]