<p>Before I came back home, I was invited to Frat parties twice by someone I didn’t even know.</p>
<p>I wasn’t interested in frat at all, but I was curious about what they do, so I went there with my friends.</p>
<p>And…all I see was beer Pongs and beer cans on floors. I had to fend off about 10 people who tried to make me</p>
<p>drink beers…(are you crazy? I don’t wanna lose my scholarship!)</p>
<p>It was obvious that many of them were not even 21 years old. However, how come the school police doesn’t know </p>
<p>such thing? </p>
<p>I think you have to not maintain grades or get kicked out of school to lose your scholarship. Drinking beer might get you a MIP (minor in possession) with a hefty fine but unlikely to get you kicked out of college. My son sent me a text this week that 3 of his friends from high school got them this past weekend and 2 of them had MIPS last March. I asked how they got them and he said one was walking down the street in E Lansing drinking a beer. Just plain stupid and expensive.<br>
All schools/police forces vary in their degrees of enforcement. At my daughter’s orientation they tell the kids not to smoke pot on campus but if they are going to smoke to go on city property where the fine is only $25. The city is also very lenient with drinking and rarely tickets unless you are falling down drunk.<br>
Now another large University closer to my home hands out MIPS like they are candy. Not sure what it’s like in Tuscaloosa so some others can chime in on this one. Police can’t just come on private property and do as they please. I tell my kids to know your rights when it comes to the police.</p>
<p>I thought that BAMA has similar policies to other school because my friend, who goes to OSU, said that his acquaintance lost his scholarship after 3 MIP.</p>
<p>I don’t even know how they would find out about MIPS that are off campus. Maybe he got caught drinking in the dorm 3 times.</p>
<p>UA and other schools reserve the right to find out if students committed any infractions off campus using legal methods such as public records requests. For example, many jurisdictions post online the names of those who have been book and released from their jails within the last 72 hours. Law violations occurring outside of UA’s jurisdiction (sometimes referred to as University, Alabama) are covered by UA’s Code of Conduct <a href=“http://policies.ua.edu/conduct.html”>http://policies.ua.edu/conduct.html</a> which students affirm each semester during registration and at other times throughout the year as needed.</p>
<p>Note that UA cannot punish students for activities which are legal in the other jurisdiction. For example, some states permit parents or legal guardians to serve their minor children a small amount of alcohol at home or at selected liquor-serving establishments. Alabama law only includes an exemption for religious activities. </p>
<p>UA understands that some students will drink or smoke before they are of legal age and will ticket when needed, but it also follows a policy of wanting said students who choose to use said products do so in a relatively safe manner. It doesn’t have the legal authority to enter private parties without probable cause or ask anyone smoking or chewing tobacco in public to present ID showing they are 19 or older. </p>
<p>Students aren’t going to get suspended or expelled for one MIP, but may be required to pay any criminal fines, spend time in jail (typically only when caught by Alabama ABC officers), and take an alcohol education course. Of those things, only the alcohol education course would be assessed by UA.</p>
<p>At schools in northern sates, it’s not uncommon for students to group together and arrange weekend transportation to/from Canada where the legal drinking age is 19 (18 in some provinces).</p>
<p>The police down here seem for the most part of be pretty lax regarding alcohol. Much more so than I would have expected. As long as someone isn’t walking down the street and falling down drunk, they don’t pay too much attention. </p>
<p>Also, I do not believe you lose a scholarship for one Minor In Possession charge. A fine and some classes is what I have heard.</p>