Busted in dorm with a beer...

<p>My DS got busted in his dorm (not his room) for possession of a beer along with a group of friends. Oral/written reprimand, required online education program, parental notification, etc. Supposedly any future violations are much more harsh.</p>

<p>As a parent, I am a bit conflicted with their policies. Boys in their rooms watching football and having a beer is the not same as doing shots and beer bongs and jumping out of windows. However, I guess he needs to learn to live by the school rules otherwise he is out.</p>

<p>Any experiences in this area would be appreciated.</p>

<p>At the college where I teach, you get all that AND turned in to the police. The local judge has a history of giving students like this a night in jail.</p>

<p>Times have sure changed. When I was in college, the drinking age was 18. The college pub sold drinks practically at cost, and every weekend at least one dorm or organization threw a kegger. Admission was usually a buck. Once a year on Founders Day, 2-3 beer trucks parked in the quad. There were maybe 6 beer taps on each side of every truck, and the beer was free, all day long.</p>

<p>So it’s a bit hard for me to judge . . .</p>

<p>I’m that age, more or less. (By the time I was in college, Mass. had raised the drinking age to 20, but the college took a laissez-faire approach to students’ use of alcohol.) </p>

<p>A number of my friends really developed their drinking problems during college…</p>

<p>My take on this is that he knew the rules, and he violated them. Nothing serious is happening to him this time, but he’s being put on notice that next time it will. It’s easier for me to day this, I’m sure, because he’s not my son, but that seems about right to me.</p>

<p>I’m sorry but Clemson has a legal obligation to enforce the drinking age of 21 in South Carolina. If you want to go drink in your dorm, that’s probably the next stupidest thing to do other than smoke pot in your room since there are RA’s on the floor (at least wait till you move off campus or are off campus). I really am shocked that a parent would be surprised that someone would get reprimanded for this. If anything, I’d consider it lucky that nothing worse happened like WasatchWriter said.</p>

<p>Seriously? Under age drinking and we are even posting anything other than praise to the school for enforcing the law. Sorry, drinking a beer watching a football game is fine if your 21 otherwise they are lucky to have gotten off with a warning.</p>

<p>Clemson makes it very clear to freshman that underage possession in dorms is not tolerated. Given that all residents in a freshman dorm are by definition underage, it’s a reasonable policy. It would be an impossible judgement call for a RA to police underage drinking if it wasn’t banned entirely. You have to bear in mind that in a 200 student dorm, it only takes a few kids that have no idea how to drink responsibly to sour the entire living experience for all. I do share your sentiments that there is no harm in a few beers over a football game. problem is when a few become too many.</p>