<p>I am a student... a good student. A student on a nearly full ride with good grades and high aspirations... but I got caught drinking. I am so worried about this and I need some advice on what I should expect and what to do. Here's the story... a few friends of my roommates were joking about how we are so prude and how we never go out and party and so they gave us a small cup of alcohol. After a long(sober) day of football and studying we were getting loud and had the music on... and we were each going to take a few shots. I had taken one, was going to take a second. My roommate made the comment that "You aren't even drunk!" and thats when there was a knock on the door. </p>
<p>It was someone making their rounds and they heard us saying the above about being drunk and taking "a" shot and how they wanted our names etc. We all came to the door(were in our dorm) , were completely compliant and explained that I had had two shots and I said my roommates had had none(which wasn't true, but my one roommate was almost hypervenaliting at this point because she had taken like 1/2 shot and was so shocked about the knock, etc) So we all gave our dates of birth(we're under age) and names. None of us have anything on our record we all have 3.5-4.0 gpas, we're all honors students, etc. At my school, if you are in the presence of alcohol and don't do anything about it, you are guilty of under age drinking. So... what should we expect? I obviously said that I was drinking(which I was) and said that I'd had two shots. She wrote that down and I intend to stick to that. I am thinking that I want to plead guilty and appeal for a lesser sentence but I am unsure about how it will appear. I talked to my RA like an hour after it happened because we were all so distraught about it and I want her to be a character witness about us... we aren't like this. ... but is this going to appear bad like I'm trying to justify my actions? I mean... I'm sorry, but I don't ever do that and I haven't ever done that. I just got caught. If I plead guilty straight out, it will go on my record as one strike(we're allowed like 3 before anything like suspension is even considered) but I am thinking that I would like to somehow plead guilty and try to not get it on my record. IE get the punnishment and have it go on my record only if I mess up again. What are your experiences with this? </p>
<p>I told my parents like 10 minutes after. I'm pathetic. They sounded disappointed but not too angry. They aren't my concern. A big thing in judicial is sending a notice home and I want to make clear that I told them like 10 minutes after it happened because I felt so guilty. My roommates and I were up until like 4am crying about it. We're just terrified. </p>
<p>Any advice on how to deal with this? </p>
<p>SATs, ACTs, LSATs, GPAs, etc aren't any stress compared to this. I'm dying here. I can handle fluid mechanics, structural analysis, etc but this... is killing me.</p>
<p>I had a friend in a similar situation at Oregon State. He took the fall for all his friends (in like the entire dorm) and all he had to do was take some sort of class.</p>
<p>I don't really see why you're so worried... from what you say, you would have to be found guilty, then do it again and be found guilty two more times to be considered for suspension? Are there even any serious consequences? Expect a slap on the wrist or a warning.</p>
<p>Oh, take a deep breath. It's not that big a deal - you have two more strikes before any real disciplinary action is considered. So what are you worried about?</p>
<p>You are sophmore in college, right? Trust me, the college has much bigger alcohol infractions to deal with...like the students who get sent to the emergency room with alcohol poisoning.</p>
<p>I think you'll get a perfunctory slap on the wrist and that will be the end of it.</p>
<hr>
<p>BTW, if you want to learn how to drink, forget the shots. That's the way losers drink. You are supposed to sip alcohol so that your intake does not exceed the ability of your system to digest it. Doing shots, especially for a non-drinker, is stupid. You probably didn't have enough alcohol, but slamming shots is how people end up in the hospital or dead -- drinking faster than it takes for the alcohol to be processed. By the time you feel the full effects, you are in trouble because you've got an overdose in your system. There are complete morons who go out on their 21st birthday and try to slam 21 shots of whiskey. If they are lucky, they become unconscious before they reach their goal. If they are not lucky, they die.</p>
<p>I really can't believe that at some schools people are hired by the colleges to police the dorms. When I was in a dorm, my RA bought us alcohol....</p>
<p>Ummm... I'm a junior in college and I'm worried about this because I haven't ever been caught for anything. No speeding tickets, no being busted at high school parties, nothing. I haven't been caught because I haven't done them. I'm worried about how grad schools are going to see this... </p>
<p>... would it be advised for me to fess up to everything(ie me taking the blame) or should I just plead guilty to what I said I did(ie two shots) and not say anything about my roommates? I don't care about attending an alcohol class, paying a fine, and all that but I want to do whatever I can to have it off my record. I don't know if that's possible. The regulations say that if you plead guilty, it goes on your record. Not like it being put on your record is negotiable at all... just the punnishments are negotiable. </p>
<p>So... I know it's not that bad and compared to many problems in life it's very minor, but for me, it's somewhat big.</p>
<p>Was this reported to the police and you were issued a citation or were you just "caught" by college officials who will deal with it through school and without police involvement?</p>
<p>I don't know why you are so worried. My son has told me that the majority of his floor has already been written up and they need to attend a class/classes about alcohol. He said that in the first few weeks of school there was a birthday party in a dorm room. The door was left open and most of the kids at that party had a mixed drink. The RA wrote down all of their names. Son says that they have a 3 strikes rule, just as your school seems to have. They also notify parents of these incidents. All of the students caught need to attend a class. It sounds to me that more students get written up, than do not get written up, but I cannot be sure about that. It is certainly not eye popping and unusual, but it is against the law.</p>
<p>Who exactly were these dorm alcohol police that eavesdropped on your private conversation from the hallway? I am just curious about that... Also, I got a kick out of your "location." Bet you are glad you aren't in Dubai right now!</p>
<p>Northeastmom is right. At my S's state u., they hold the classes right on campus. The classes are full of students all the time from what I understand. Cost about $150. </p>
<p>Also at S's school last year some underage students were having a dorm room party involving beer and took some pictures that were posted on MySpace. The RA happened to see the pictures with underage students holding the beer and reported it. I believe the student who was hosting the party was kicked out of the dorm. There was a big brouhaha over whether a student could be convicted of something via MySpace evidence. The RA took a lot of heat over it from the student body. Being an RA is a tough job.</p>
<p>In a school with a three-strikes policy, being written up for alcohol once isn't likely to have serious consequences.</p>
<p>What could have serious consequences is drinking shots. As interesteddad said, this is a particularly dangerous form of alcohol consumption.</p>
<p>Your college may force you into an alcohol education program because of your one offense. Even if they don't, you might want to see whether your can do it voluntarily. You will learn valuable information.</p>
<p>Relax. Most likely none of this will show up on your record and grad schools have other things to consider than that a college student was caught drinking.</p>
<p>Regarding the shots... I had roughly two shots of alcohol in a rum and coke. </p>
<p>The police were not involved... so there will be no legal action. </p>
<p>As far as how they heard, they stood outside our door with a pen and paper in hand and recorded what they heard. When I answered the door I explained that I had had maybe two shots and then proceeded to ask what the implications of this whole situation would be. They then read back what they heard and we had a probably 10 minute discussion about how the process works. They assured us that we wouldn't be in too much trouble because we were honest and compliant. </p>
<p>I just feel terrible about it. I spoke to my hall director today about it and she kept telling me not to worry, etc but it's still a big deal to me.</p>
<p>anovice, when I used the words "dorm alcohol police" I did not mean actual sworn on-duty police officers. I was wondering who the people were that stood outside your door with a pen and paper. You just refer to these people as "they." I am merely wondering who "they" were, and in what capacity were they acting? Were "they" your fellow students? Hallmates? HS students on a tour of your dorm? Just seems odd to me that there were people standing outside your door eavesdropping on your conversations and transcribing them with pen and paper.</p>
<p>anovice,
that's kind of how I felt when receiving my first traffic citation (running a red light - no alcohol involved) at the age of 48. </p>
<p>Anyways, I felt totally chagrined. I am now even more careful as a driver. And I suspect that you will wait until the big 21 for your next glass of a civilized reisling or microbrew. </p>
<p>It is possible that your school is being really twitchy right now because of alcohol poisoning or other incident. Alcohol - especially lots of it - is harder for your youthful brain cells to recuperate from. Just be more sensible in the future.</p>