For those who are well-versed with the inner workings of academia, it is easy to guess what the next scandal to hit academia will be.
For those of you who don't know, it will be about alcohol on campus and how many educational institutions do an inadequate job of monitoring the safety and well-being of our students.
Judicial systems are out of date, penalties are slow in coming and weak in implementation, and meeting the enrollment figures is often more important than holding our students accountable. Retaining a student is important to campuses where enrollment is an issue and hence stringent policies on alcohol are unwelcome in these institutions.
Further, some campuses are keen that their campus data should not reveal that alcoholism as a problem or an issue. Most parents don't know to ask for this data (a federal mandate, by the way) and for those that do campuses want to make sure that everything looks good.
So if you are a parent dropping off your kid at a university or college, ask about their judicial policies and procedures. Talk to other students on campus. And at least take a look at the data, even if some institutions prefer you never look at that data.
