Editor, Daily Nexus,

The statistics cited in Monday’s article, “Parental Notification Keeps I.V. Safe,” were sobering and came as no surprise to the students of the college community that go out on weekends. What the authors (Elizabeth Van Dyke and Elizabeth Ozmar) fail to address is the aftermath of a decision that would place responsibility for students’ mistakes in the hands of their parents.

The article mostly addresses student drinking, so I’ll stick to that as an example. I fail to understand how letters home will ever cut down on student drinking better than other programs that deal with students directly. For every “child” that receives a reprimand and loses their parents’ trust over a keg, there will be another who will be willing to risk it for a good party. There will be no lessening of party behavior, I assure you. And as for the disgusting living situations and Neanderthal mentality the girls complained of – would your mom come and clean that up?

The authors – and the university – have to understand that, as much as I hate to admit it, getting wasted and partying has become a rite of passage on every college campus that I know of. By choosing to come up with a solution that deals only with the punishment aspect of the problem, you perpetuate it all the more. You’ve told us that we’re hopeless – that we can’t even control ourselves – and frankly, I’m insulted. You speak to the minority. Just like we aren’t David Attias, we also aren’t morons. I have very intelligent friends, and we keep each other safe. Why don’t you come up with a plan like that? Emphasize the buddy system, show films on sexual assault in I.V. Theater and start holding more of those sober block parties, where kids who don’t want to be affiliated with the “piss-stained walls” can find a place to dance. It may surprise you, but for most of us, that would do the trick. When did we lose sight of this? The response to this issue frightens me for one very large reason – the university sounds like it can’t deal with things on its own. For one last bout, the parents are being called in to fix things because, supposedly, nobody else can. “I’m in college,” won’t exactly have the same ring anymore because, for the first time, it won’t mean a damn thing.

DAPHANE ADATO