Underage Alcohol Use among College Students - Essay Example

The paper "Underage Alcohol Use among College Students" is an outstanding example of an essay on social science. Empirical studies are potent to the fact that alcohol is the preferred choice of the drug among college students particularly in those with a small student population of fewer than 5,000 students. Riara Technical Institute is one such example due to its student population of 2,500. It has been established that alcohol consumption among college students traditionally has been part of college experience among students without regard to the legal status of student alcohol consumption (Engs, 2004).

Research studies have shown that up to 56% of colleges and universities have developed a formal parental notification policy for parents of underage students under alcohol violation. Underage alcohol abuse has been found to impact negatively on the performance of the students. It has been found that underage alcohol users often portray a large volume of blood alcohol content which affects over a long period of time and affects their academic performance in the long run. It has been noted that when underage students’ content is saturated with alcohol, a lot of bad things do happen to those around them and themselves (Engs, 2004)s. This is because they do lose focus and clarity of issues that they undertake.
The police department at McLean has noted that more than 30 arrests of underage drinkers at three different parties. This was possible through the public’s initiative of calling to inform the police of the event. This has shown that the public has become aware of the worrying statistics of underage drinkers and are taking action in helping to curb the menace. Currently, over 34% of the colleges that have not developed a formal written policy on notification have adopted an informal practice of notifying the parents of underage alcohol drinkers while 10% of US colleges and Universities never notify parents (Engs, 2004).
In conclusion, it is in the best interests of students and the Riara Institutes reputation to develop modalities for parent notifications and also create awareness to students on the dangers of underage drinking through health science course that needs to be introduced. This will go a long way in promoting students’ welfare in the college and help those who already engaged in underage drinking to take control (Engs, 2004). Read More