University President John T. Casteen III recently released a letter to all incoming students and their parents concerning the University's new notification policy for when students abuse alcohol or violate laws concerning alcohol consumption.
"We believe that the effect [on students] will be minimal because experience this year has been that both students and organizations, fraternities for example, have taken action to reduce the number of cases in which serious hazard to health or safety occurs to implement educational programs to discourage chronic abuse," Casteen said.
Parents will be notified when "the Office of the Dean of Students receives notification from law enforcement officials that a University of Virginia student under the age of 21 has been arrested during an academic session for a drug or alcohol related violation," the parental notification policy reads.
Further, "when there is reason to believe that a student's health and well being are in jeopardy, a professional staff member in the Office of the Dean of Students will notify a parent or guardian," the policy states.
The notification policy "formalizes our current practice," Asst. Dean of Students Aaron Laushway said.
According to the policy, a "professional staff member in the Office of the Dean of Students will encourage the student to make the initial call to a parent or guardian. The staff member ordinarily will follow up with a phone call, unless family circumstances make a call inappropriate. In such cases the student will be encouraged to use the University's professional counseling resources."
"When a student has been arrested or cited or demonstrated a misuse or problematic drinking, we have always encouraged that student to contact her or his parent or guardian and thus gain significant support from a family member," Laushway said.
"This policy is in addition to the intervention and education programs already offered students when such infractions are brought to our attention," the policy states. "Intervention may include one or more of the following: substance abuse assessment by a trained clinician; psychological assessment by a trained clinician; substance abuse counseling; enrollment in educational programs."
However, some students may not feel such intervention is necessary.
"I am glad to see the administration is looking out for students, however in this situation I think it might have been more appropriate course of action that students should be treated as adults," said Jamey Thompson, Student Council vice president for organizations. "What [students'] parents find out about what they do here should be up to students, not the administration."
It may be necessary in certain instances, but "an across the board policy is something else," Thompson said.
"The deans will use the notification authority built into the new [Higher Education Act] only after careful consideration of each case, with the rules of severity and pattern considered each time," Casteen said.
"The last Congress amended the Higher Education Act to make clear that college and university officials have the authority to notify parents of students under 21 when their children violate laws governing alcohol and drug use," according to a letter written by Casteen to parents.
The letter is accompanied by a copy of the policy.
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