<p>This school has an excellent reputation...sort of...it's never #1, it's always 7 or 20...but anyway, in my experience, there is an awful lot of underage drinking on this campus. Now, if I, as a private citizen, made alcohol available for underage teens in my home, I would and could be arrested, right? So how is it that this venerable state institution is able to look the other way while underage teens are drinking in its dorms?</p>
<p>Just wondering.</p>
<p>How is this different than on any other campus?</p>
<p>are you serious?</p>
<p>I second newyork09 in say… are you serious?</p>
<p>There is underage drinking at just about every single college campus in the country. Unless the school wants to have cameras in all rooms and other draconian measures those who choose to drink will likely continue to get away with it.</p>
<p>The best you can do is trust your child to make wise choices.</p>
<p>mom4college, how is it that W & M has attracted your attention on this issue? I assure you that there is “an awful lot of underage drinking” on more than 90 percent of the college campuses in this country (and that’s probably a conservative estimate). How is it that such “venerable state institutions” as Berkeley, or UMichigan, or - in your own state - UVA or VTech or Mary Washington are able to look the other way while underage drinking goes on in their dorms? Is this a particularly bothersome issue to you only at W & M? Why? Berkeley, Michigan, and UVA are all ranked higher than W & M by US News. </p>
<p>I’ve got to admit that I can’t quite follow the line of reasoning in your post - what do the rankings have to do with the underage drinking? Are you saying that schools where underage drinking occurs shouldn’t have excellent reputations? I don’t understand the phrase “sort of” regarding W&M’s reputation, either. You cite that W & M is never ranked first but is always 7 or 20. Are you saying that schools ranked 7 or 20 don’t have “excellent reputations” as well? In the current USNews rankings, Harvard is first, no school is ranked 7th (Columbia and UChicago are tied for 8th), and Notre Dame is 20th. All have excellent reputations, no? W & M was ranked aaallll the way down there at 33! Are you less affronted by the underage drinking now?</p>
<p>The thread title and “sort of” jibe indicate that you feel W & M is undeserving of its reputation. If so, I’m sure you’re pleased that your student goes elsewhere.</p>
<p>Wow…this is the most surreal thread I’ve seen in a long time.</p>
<p>But I wish the college “looked the other way” when it came to underage drinking…making beef bourguignon would be a lot less stressful.</p>
<p>Having daughters at WM and JMU, drinking occurs on both campuses. Back in the day, when I was at VCU, wow, still underage drinking. Hmmmm…a trend?</p>
<p>there is underage drinking at almost every college in the US.</p>
<p>JMU, UVA, Michigan, Berkeley, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT… all of them.</p>
<p>Let me ask again:</p>
<p>if I provide alcohol in my home to underage drinkers and host them while they drink, my neighbors or the parents of those teens could easily call the police and I would be arrested.</p>
<p>although W&M does not provide the alcohol, if they permit underage drinking to occur on their campus, then why are is the school not held accountable in the same way that a private citizen does?</p>
<p>And let me ask again: what makes W & M particularly accountable for this all-too-common problem, and what does its reputation/ranking have to do with it? I can’t get past the confusion in your first post. Yup, underage drinking happens at W & M, it’s illegal, and sometimes bad stuff happens as a result. Why should this reflect more negatively on W & M than on comparable “venerable” institutions? Really, it’s just odd to single out W & M, of all the schools on this site, and accuse it of complicity in underage drinking. Which is what it seems you’re doing.</p>
<p>As a concerned private citizen, why not call the police yourself? Though I doubt the Williamsburg police would arrest President Reveley for neglect of his responsibilities. I mean - the College has a reasonable alcohol education program in place, as well as consequences for breaking the rules. Do you expect W & M security to do door-to-door room checks every night?</p>
<p>mom4college, I gather from an earlier post that your nephew is at W&M and he has remarked on the amount of drinking. Is this the source of your concern?</p>
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<p>How do you know that the school permits underage drinking? Couldn’t it be that the school has an official policy against underage drinking? </p>
<p>And couldn’t it be that any underage drinking is done in ways the school can’t detect or is outside its juridiction? </p>
<p>And couldn’t it be that college kids drink everywhere, not just a W&M? </p>
<p>I’m really baffled by your presumption that W&M is immune to consequences or permits underage drinking.</p>
<p>JMU operates a drunk bus. I do not understand why you are attacking only WM. Trust me…there ARE consequences for underage drinking and out of control behavior.</p>
<p>[shakes head]</p>
<p>Were you drinking when you wrote this beauty? </p>
<p>It’s really the only explanation.</p>
<p>Here’s the school’s alcohol policy: </p>
<p>[William</a> & Mary - Alcohol Policy](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/offices/deanofstudents/policies/alcohol/index.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/offices/deanofstudents/policies/alcohol/index.php)</p>
<p>Maybe I’m missing the part where it says they encourage / allow underage drinking?</p>
<p>Since you say you’re from Roanoke, and you’re really concerned about drinking on campus, perhaps drive down to the school near you who published this: </p>
<p>“In 2005, 79.8% of students at Virginia Tech consumed alcohol, with 58.4% of students having engaged in recent binge drinking. (In keeping with the standard, national definition, binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting.) In addition, alcohol use was measured at high levels for both underage and of age
students, with some student organizations facing heightened challenges in this area. For example, 75% of students in Greekletter organizations participated in binge drinking activity. ** Finally, in relation to national averages, Virginia Tech students consumed more alcohol, and engaged more widely in binge drinking practices, than peers at other schools.**”</p>
<p>Sounds like they <em>really</em> have a problem there. Why not go on down and volunteer to help patrol for alcohol violations, I’m sure they’d looove to have you. </p>
<p>As for “only” being ranked top ten, or top 30, or whatever - (gasp!) The horror! I guess all those students who attend such second-rate institutions as W&M, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, UVA, etc, should all go find the nearest bridge and jump, right?</p>
<p>Nice link Squiddy. I think it is safe to say that drinking occurs on all college campuses. I went to a military college which had harsh punishment up to and including expulsion for “drinking unauthorized, in the company of others, or by oneself” yet drink we did. I do not think my college condoned the behavior at all but it did indeed occur. Im sure William and Mary drops the hammer if they have to but like most schools (civilian) they dont go looking for underage drinking unless it presents itself in the form of obnoxious or dangerous behavior. Once the school is confronted with the need to act I’m sure they follow the guidelines so listed in their procedures.</p>
<p>Yeah, and there are legal issues (privacy) that prevent action from being taken. As an RA, by law I can’t just walk into rooms looking for code violations.</p>
<p>And by extension, why not blame the Governor for not enforcing law throughout the Commonwealth? That is his job, after all. [Reductio ad Absurdum]</p>
<p>I appreciate your love for the school, but I am really just musing on the legality of the situation. You can insert any other school here if it helps you to address the question. Here To Help has helped with the info that RA’s have certain policies to follow. It just seems to me that more high school students should figure out how to get to a local college campus to do their drinking and spare their parents the potential of legal problems!</p>
<p><wink></wink></p>
<p>Yes – nephew at W&M and D at Longwood where she reports no drinking in her particular part of the dorm but it is a theme house for nerdy kids, so that is not surprising.</p>
<p>I have no experience or knowledge of VT but am deeply sympathetic to their issues with violence.</p>
<p>Underage college kids drink on campus. Ordinary people speed on the highway. </p>
<p>Both are illegal and dangerous. Both come with criminal consequences and civil penalties. Nobody condones either. And “the authorities” are always trying to stop them from happening. But they happen anyway! </p>
<p>That’s the legality of the situation. What don’t you get?</p>
<p>And, btw, parents’ legal problems aren’t limited to what happens under their roofs.</p>
<p>mom4college, Are you saying that the school provides alcohol to the students or are you saying they “look the other way” with regard to drinking? I don’t know anyone who attends the college but I would find the first case to be ludicrous and the second doubtful. There have been several cases brought against fraternities as a result of binge drinking. Im sure the administration enforces the rules previously referenced on their site. Otherwise they would be wide open to legal action if someone gets hurt, even if it is the individuals fault.</p>
<p>I say again that you can find trouble on any campus if you are looking for it whether it is MIT, Harvard, the Naval Academy, or W&M. It may be harder to find at the USNA but trust me on this, you can find it.</p>
<p>I believe last year several college presidents spoke out for changing the drinking age back to 18 in part to get the school out of the bind of having to enforce drinking age restrictions. Does anyone else recall that initiative?</p>
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<p>You are referring to the Amethyst Initiative. Over 100 college presidents have called for a debate on the wisdom of lowering the drinking age to 18. Among them are the presidents of Dartmouth, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, and Virginia Tech. </p>
<p>There is more to the initiaitive than a desire to shirk responsibility. With a lower drinking age, students could drink openly on campus, which may be safer than drinking covertly or drinking off campus.</p>