I live in a college town, and just this past weekend one of the student-centered apartment complexes held a pool-side, back-to-school party. The invite went out via the apartment complex’s Facebook page: free to residents; $2 for non-residents, with the money supposedly going to an undisclosed charity. A DJ was there to provide music and one rule was cited: No alcohol in the pool area.”
The party began around 1 p.m. and, according to our local paper’s—The Coloradoan—report, the first police patrols were dispatched around 3 p.m., “after fire and ambulance responders were overwhelmed with alcohol-overdose cases.” Four people were arrested for obstructing a peace officer and third-degree assault (two of whom are on the school football team), and 10 people were transported to the local hospital for conditions such as alcohol poisoning, and cuts and scrapes. The party was officially considered out-of-control and called off before 6 p.m. Police were relieved that most party goers left with no incident.
The number of attendees apparently was hard to gauge—estimates ranged between 2,000 and 4,000. The picture in the paper shows a totally littered pool side, most of which looks like crushed beer cans. The apartment complex managers claim this is an annual event that has never gotten out of control before, and police said it is lucky more students were not injured. One party goer was quoted by the Coloradoan as saying: “I had fun. It was funny watching people just get trashed.” Funny?
An out-of-control college party is not something that surprises most of us. Parties are part of the college scene, and most of us realize that we have no control over whether our students attend such events, or over how they will act. Will she engage in binge drinking? Will our underage freshman be chugging those out-of-nowhere appearing beers pool-side? Will our intoxicated student shove a police officer that is telling him he is being cited with a minor-in-possession? Will our environmentally-conscious daughter stomp on her beer can and leave it?
It is very hard to say or know. Any other answer is naïve. But, as I say in Toward College Success, we need to have conversations about risk taking, appropriate behavior, and consequences with our teenagers long before they join the throng of freshman heading to the back-to-school party. When something like this party appears in the paper, it gives parents a golden opportunity for discussion. Ask your teenager if she knows what the penalties are for a minor-in-possession. Ask him what kind of a message it sends to other athletes and students when two of the school’s football players are arrested and their pictures displayed in the paper. Ask her who is responsible for a party that gets out of hand regardless of who is or isn’t invited. Ask him what he thinks would have been the best way to handle himself at the party.
Also ask if your teenager knows that the university can take action when partiers go awry—and not just to the football players. Colorado State University Dean of Students Judy Donovan (who, by the way, is quoted in Toward College Success), said the school is investigating the details of the party. The paper quotes her as saying, “There will be consequences for those who were cited.” It doesn’t matter that the party was not on school property; the law-breaking students also violated the CSU conduct code, and the school will administer consequences.
Even if we model responsible behavior, keep discussions going, and give out consequences when needed to our teenagers at home, there is no guarantee that they will not make poor decisions when they find themselves in the middle of a wild college party. But the chances that they will think before they act are increased if they already understand the risks and the very real consequences. Keep the discussions going.
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