I’m 18 and I went to a party, off campus, and I got so drunk that my friends were worried, took me back to the dorm, and called the RA who then got the university police and paramedics. The ER confirmed that I was “intoxicated without complications”, I was not drugged or had alcohol poisoning. The university police assured me that since my friends called out of concern for my health, none of us would get in trouble with the law, however the university is a different story. I have a meeting with the assistant dean of students, but I’m beyond nervous, is this something that would go on my record and prevent me from being a teacher? What kind of consequences could I face?
It’s nice to hear that your friends looked out for you.
I can’t answer your question but if I had to guess you will likely get a warning and not a permanent mark on your record.
It’s a shame that your school doesn’t have an amnesty policy. My school made one a few years ago, and I think it’s something that all schools should do, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t drink and doesn’t go to parties.
I’m glad you are safe and well. Don’t worry too much about the meeting; you can’t undo the past. Just be honest and take responsibility for your actions.
Maybe they don’t want to meet because you are in trouble. Maybe it’s a meeting to discuss the situation and to talk about your safety. Maybe the dean wants to be sure you have learned from this.
You may think…hey, i was just drunk at a college party, no big deal!
You were drunk enough that your friends were worried about your health.
The University also wants to keep it students safe…safe from alcohol poisoning, safe from you making bad choices while drunk, safe from other people making bad choices for you.
You broke the law.
So right now you have to think:
How many drinks did you have?
Have you ever drank before?
Did you plan ahead of time how much you would drink?
Did you eat before you drank?D
Did you alternate with non alcoholic beverages?
So make sure you understand the severity of what happened/could have happened.
Understand that underage drinking is not sanctioned.
Understand that if you get caught again you will probably be expelled.
Understand that if you can drink responsibly, don’t drink.
You need to convince the Assistant Dean you understand all of this and won’t do it again. They have gone through this with a zillion other students…but still…they don’t want a liability.
Now reasonably, you may drink again…but you have to keep it under control so others don’t have to get involved.
Because next time you drink to much either they will talk to the RA again, and then you might be expelled…or they won’t talk to the RA for fear of getting you in trouble and you may die.
Your college should have guidelines for how conduct infractions are handled. Look those up. Anyway, it’s something handled internally by the college. You may face probation, have to take some sort of alcohol course, or whatever. At the end of the day, it looks like you are not in legal trouble, and this shouldnt be showing up on transcripts since it’s not an academic honor sort of thing. You are fine.
You just started college. You broke the law. Your drank enough to concern multiple friends and supportive adults. Are you considering changing your behavior, or only concerned with the possible mark on your record? Because if this is how you want to spend your college years, it won’t matter what the Dean does this time…there will be another.
I have a friend who this happened to. They didn’t get in trouble and pretty much got off with a warning. They may give you some resources about alcohol and alcohol abuse. IMO you shouldn’t really be in too much trouble
Likely you will not be in too much trouble if this is your first/only issue. I’m guessing you will be required to take an alcohol class or something and if you don’t have further issues it all should be OK. I can’t imagine your college will be looking to ruin your career. Be honest with the Dean and make sure he/she understands that you have learned your lesson.
Also please take a minute and thank your friends for watching over you like that. While you may view this whole thing as an annoyance at this point I read stories every year about a wonderful young adult in college who dies of complications from alcohol poisoning. So take this as a warning and move forward in a positive manner.
Thank you all so much for your replies. The meeting went well, I was honest and took responsibility; I received a warning, and was assigned an essay, that I will heed along with all of your guys’ warnings and advice.
I’m glad to hear it went well, @colabear. I have been in situations where I have had too much to drink or my friends have had too much.
I echo what the above posters said about thanking your friends. There have been countless stories at my university about students’ not acting when a friend is too drunk. I’m glad your friends weren’t afraid to involve the RA. That says a lot about your friends.
Just try and monitor your drinking from now on, which I’m sure you will. I know I hate when I need to be “babysat” by my friends.
You don’t want to be “that friend” (the one who always goes overboard and everyone else has to babysit). If you must drink, know your limits.