<p>Grew up in Wis, went to UW during the early 70’s, when the laws changed, have child there now. I was happy to read they may get parents involved, for the sake of the student. Notice, it seems only the very drunk, not the mildly so, will face the parental notification. The 18 year old age is good in trying to keep alcohol out of the high school crowd- no seniors buying it for weekend parties with younger, even less developed brains… there’s even an ad campaign now that warns parents they can face criminal charges for letting underage drinking occur in their homes (ie the HS parties). Knowing the state drinking culture, the binge drinking problems, etc., I applaud any efforts to help. I do not see any issue with rights, some of the Federal government’s privacy laws hurt more than help sometimes. UW fell out of the top 20 party ranks, and if you read local/UW news items you will find the local taverns have noticed a decrease in business. I also know that if the students felt their rights were being curtailed we would hear about the protests. No laws or system can perfectly address all needs, fortunately there are ways of working with/around them. </p>
<p>Parents - do not worry about sending your child (excuse me, letting them go) to UW-Madison. There are plenty of students who do not do the drinking. Anyone with a child involved in drinking needs to consider why their child chose to drink- if it’s the crowd they hang out with they can switch friends, easily done at such a large campus. BTW, it was “mix” (for Coke-Coca Cola) that students with their rum filled wineskins shouted at football games in the early 70’s. You get more than an academic education in college… Going through the parents’ version of SOAR (summer orientation) I felt very good about the ways UW tries to address all sorts of nonacademic, as well as academic, issues. Their website has a wealth of information, including the handbook given at SOAR so anyone interested can investigate how things are done. Just remember, no system is perfect- and the university can’t control, they can only try to change, student attitudes towards drinking (usually formed from parental attitudes).</p>
<p>Enough from me on this topic, my input won’t change anyone’s views…</p>