Drug Problem at Reed

[emeraldkity4]

<p>From what I have read, men and women in their early adult hood, have a disturbing rate of alcohol use, drug use, reckless & impulsive behavior .</p>

<p>Reed college, does not attempt to be parents, the way that some institutions attempt to control behavior by adults that don’t infringe on another’s rights.</p>

<p>When I heard about a freshman, having a glass of wine with dinner in the commons and not being hauled out, I wasn’t surprised.</p>

<p>I hear about other schools where students are expelled for going to the hospital to deal with overdose or depressive thoughts. Where other students are afraid to take their dormmates for help, because they don’t want them to get " in trouble’, where students are watched over by administration and staff- but because they haven’t learned earlier to monitor their own behavior, as soon as ’ the college’ back is turned , they run hog wild.</p>

<p>[Higher</a> Education Center: Alcohol and Other Drugs on Campus-The Scope of the Problem <meta name=“keywords” content=“binge drinking”>](<a href=“National Drug Abuse Hotline and Treatment Locator Service”>National Drug Abuse Hotline and Treatment Locator Service)</p>

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Jeffrey Parsons, a professor of psychology at New York’s Hunter College who focuses on drug and alcohol addiction, says some students go wild and act crazy as they enjoy freedoms allowed by parents and universities, who are pointing fingers at each other.</p>

<p>Parents assume the colleges are enforcing drinking rules, he says, while school officials assume that parents have taught their children to behave responsibly.</p>

<p>Students feel free to take huge risks, he says. “They’re not in an environment where somebody is patrolling their behavior.”

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<p>I think it is telling that the student was new to the college.
Students who get the ethos of Reed, of the honor code & responsible adult behavior, don’t generally OD.</p>

<p>My daughter did choose a subfree dorm freshman year ,she chose sub free, because she hoped that a dorm without substance use, ( she also comes from an alcoholic background & one reason why she chose Reed was that she wanted a school where alcohol use wasn’t de rigueur )would be quieter, than one with freshmen who were excited mom and dad weren’t around to tell them when to go to bed or what to have for breakfast, including beer.</p>

<p>But as i have mentioned earlier, we live less than 200 miles away, we visited ( our whole family or just I and her sister who is 8 years younger), 4 or 5 times a year, including the beginning and end of the school year , since 2001.
We have gotten to know the area, our daughter still lives in Portland & while I recognize there is a huge drug problem in Portland, especially [url=<a href=“http://www.facesofmeth.us/]meth[/url”>http://www.facesofmeth.us/]meth[/url</a>], the side of Reed that I have seen has left me impressed with the intelligence and support of the community.</p>