December 5, 2007
UR Students in Court over Underage Drinking Party
Can we get an “oops” on the behalf of a group of University of Richmond students that were in court, according to an article from the Times-Dispatch.
Must have been one shindig of a party with over 35 arrests and dozens more people involved. Sure, we all need to blow off a little steam but, wow, did they really think they wouldn’t get caught with that many people involved? Like I said: “oops.”
Love the quote the judge said. My sentiments exactly.
General District Judge Archer L. Yeatts III, whose father was state Alcoholic Beverage Control commissioner, told more than a dozen students appearing before him Monday that “You all aren’t as smart as I thought you were.”
And throwing the party a month after two fraternity officers were charged with helping an underage student get alcohol defies logic, the judge said.
Speaking respectfully as an underage college student who also works as a resident advisor on a hall of over 60 freshmen, I’d like to say anyone who believes that a party with 35 underage kids is out of the norm is seriously deluded. Perhaps law enforcement and court agencies are too far removed from the college scene (or too old to know a college campus where drinking is illegal for 18 year olds), but underage drinking happens every day, any time of the day. I think my campus brags that 20 percent of its students don’t drink socially. That leaves approximately 24,000 students who claim to drink at least once a month. I think efforts by law enforcement would be better spent teaching high school kids that drinking is bad and teaching college students how to drink responsibly. Drinking is and always will be a part of college whether the legal age is 18, 21, or 25. It’s just too ingrained in college culture to die just as alcohol was too ingrained in American culture to die during prohibition. I’d like to respectfully tell that judge that he is the ignorant one if he believes that these students’ party is a rare occurrence of especially dumb students. It would be more accurate to say that these 35 are a very normal group of students who just were unlucky enough to have neighbors call the cops on them.