<p>As I said in my post, CD, there are certainly underage drinkers and underage drinking at Smith. But I can speak from experience as a person who was once an underage college student, the bars and restaurants in Northampton do make it very hard to buy alcohol there without genuine ID. The liquor stores are the same. Are there some who get around it through clever ingenuity? Probably. But again, speaking from my experience, most first years aren’t that dedicated to the hunt, or that slick, so they learn early on not to bother trying to frequent bars in town. </p>
<p>Now, as you say, and as I think I said, that doesn’t mean they don’t drink. Probably if the administration raided every dorm room, they could find a hefty supply of liquor. And underage drinkers on campus aren’t magicking alcohol out of thin air. Any place where you have a wide-range of students of different ages living together, being friends, is going to have some… let’s call it black market commerce. Or just plain old sharing. </p>
<p>I do think it is absolutely important for students and parents to have conversations about drinking before they go to college. And it can’t just be “don’t drink.” Parents, especially if they’ve been to college, need to be realistic. Smith is a dryer campus than most, but it’s still full of college students, most of whom drink at least a little. I think it’s important to arm your student with some basic, common sense safety. Don’t get into car with someone who has been drinking. Don’t get behind the wheel of a car if you’ve been drinking (this is less of an issue at Smith where many people do not drive). And an important one that’s too often overlooked, is the affect that alcohol can have when mixed with even run of the mill drugs. If your children take prescriptions, or even if they take tylenol, you or a doctor should talk to them seriously about the multiplier effect of alcohol and drugs. Too many kids go to college with misinformation on that score, and it can put their health at serious risk.</p>