Colleges and drugs

Debruns · 03-16-2005, 02:10 PM

Hi, I know I might sound naive, but in trying to access Vassar's website I came upon this one. It had a long list of titles that if hit upon, would give you photos of students doing all kinds of games, drinking, and drugs. The drugs and drinking bothered me the most, especially since they seemed to so proud to be photographed and put on the web. If I were one of their parents I would be on the phone and angry wouldn't come close. Am I being too "old fashioned"? http://students.vassar.edu/juvantieg...ureshigh1.htmland http://students.vassar.edu/juvantieg...ientation.html

audiophile · 03-16-2005, 02:19 PM

Evidentally you haven't seen the commercials for the "Girls Gone Wild" videos or watched MTV lately. I can't even imagine the disappointment I would feel if I saw one of my kids in those situations.

Debruns · 03-16-2005, 02:31 PM

I haven't seen MTV in years, my 12 year old twins aren't interested and my son never was a music video fanatic either. I've seen "girls go wild" pics in magazines but just put it down disgusted. I was never an angel, but next to all that, I guess I was closer than I thought! I was listening to a "jock-type" freshman at my gym yesterday, bragging about his 24/7 drinking binge over his break. Not beer, HARD liquor he went on, loudly, so we all could be "impressed". It went on for about 5 minutes before a bored doctor on the next machine, mumbled about seeing him in a few years. (at least he stopped talking)

carolyn · 03-16-2005, 02:50 PM

The drinking and drugs aren't a surprise - both were around when I was in college. What IS a surprise is how willingly these students post these pictures on the Internet for the entire world to see.

barrons · 03-16-2005, 03:09 PM

Booze and drugs at a liberal college--I'm shocked, shocked I say.

andi · 03-16-2005, 04:05 PM

I really think that the problem of drugs and alcohol on campus these days is very discouraging. I recently spoke with an administrator at the campus where my older s is a freshmen and frankly it was downright depressing to hear what she had to say. There are kids who smoke pot ever day, there were mushrooms going around in the fall and even a pure form of heroin that was more enticing because it could be snorted as opposed to injected. This school is not - as the previous poster said, and I hope was being sarcastic- noted as being a ""liberal"" college campus.
Colleges seem to come up with various means of dealing with the problem but it's definitely not going away. What's wrong with this picture?

emeraldkity4 · 03-16-2005, 04:38 PM

pure heroin?
On the cop shows that is always the most dangerous kind- it doesn't need to be pure to get a high from it & is more expensive- but less room for the dealer to make money if he doesn't cut it.
I don't think it is the colleges job to deal with the "problem". Are workplaces responsible if they have a number of alcoholics?

I think the groups on campus can help students to find other outlets for their need for stimuli and social opportunities that don't need to include substances whether legal like alcohol ( for those over 21) or illegal ( like everything else), but colleges students are adults, and if they haven't learned to moderate their behavior by the time they are in college, having the college act as a parent or police, doesn't seem to help much in colleges which use that approach.

andi · 03-16-2005, 04:58 PM

whatever purity the heroin was, it was able to be inhaled as opposed to injected. I'm not saying that it's the colleges' responsibility to fix the problem, but there is indeed a problem and it exists on many campuses. Not all the kids who participate in the use of the substance of their choice are from "bad" families. There does seem to be a culture within college kids where drugs are just done and there's nothing to be ashamed of- as the original poster pointed out.

runawaywithme · 03-16-2005, 05:07 PM

College is college. Drinking, drugs and wild partie are the norm. Once kids leave the nest of home they feel the need to "experiment". I'm surprised Vassar chose to broadcast it, but the content that they are showing is what happens at many other colleges.

emeraldkity4 · 03-16-2005, 05:09 PM

Heroin has always been around that you could snort, but that is an awful way to ingest any drug. Eats away your nasal membranes, causes nose bleeds- very attractive

The drug I am most concerned about is tobacco
one in 5 deaths is connected to smoking.
second hand smoke is deadly, even more than for the user in some circumstances
The way that cigarettes are manufactured in this country- with additives to boost nicotine levels, makes them more addictive than heroin.
If we were serious about a "war on drugs" we would consider tobacco first.
http://www.tobacco-facts.info/

joev · 03-16-2005, 05:51 PM

If you are more concerned about tobacco than black tar freaking heroin, you need a serious reality check my friend.

Debruns · 03-16-2005, 08:28 PM

I know drugs/heavy drinking will never leave college (or life) but I hope to find a college with more options than others. My son will drink one day, but I doubt his rigid personality and adversion to any drugs (legal and otherwise) will change. We had a neighbor that fought heroin addiction for years and finally after 15, is staying clean. He told us many stories of his college days experimenting and abuse. For some, it will be a somewhat pleasant blur, for others, they might find their habits in college only get worse.My son tells me he'll find people to be friends with, but he's used to not following the pack. I admire that, but sometimes you have to work a lot harder to find things to do if the environment is just "let's get high" Every kid is so different, you have to hope and pray your child will find a good fit and have a great 4 years.

hollowcloud · 03-16-2005, 09:55 PM

Be supportive of your child's plans, parents, and watch who they hang around, specifically at community colleges. They are highly concentrated with slackers, as opposed to universities which almost invariably contain persons who give a hoot about their careers. A few semesters ago. I had classes with a two hour interval betwwen them, followed by another hour until my mom got off work and picked me up. During this time, I found myself not studying, but being pulled into the wrong crowd. I failed micro-economics that semester, because I would get stoned in between classes. I was infuriated with myself. I cleaned up, retook the class, avoiding my old mistakes, and aced it. I'm only 18, and go through an obstacle coarse of temptation every day, but now, I set my schedule more tightly. I have only ten minutes between classes this semester, and this has made a big difference in helping me keep sight of my goals. I hope parents in this forum can use my scenario to develop tactics for monitoring your chidrens' behavior

andi · 03-16-2005, 10:40 PM

that's great hollowcloud. You deserve lots of credit for having the strength to re-direct yourself.

03-16-2005, 11:49 PM

Just to present another point of view on this matter, here we go. I don't like the knee-jerk, "drugs are bad and will lead to academic failure reaction". I'm a HS junior. One of my best friends happens to be an enormous pothead, and just got accepted to the Cornell College of Arts and Sciences. Another one of my best friends has A's across the board and smokes more than I do. I myself smoke virtually every weekend. I never do it if I have school the next day, but that's about the limit I set for myself. I also play two varsity sports, am ranked in the top 1% of my class and have a 4.0 unweighted GPA this year, with 3 AP's.

To sum it up, none of these things will destroy people who are responsible about when and where they are done. Smoking in between classes is a perfect example of this, and it's a terrible idea. However, just drugs and drinking themselves will not destroy you provided you use some common sense.