Every year, approximately 100 UW-Madison students are admitted to emergency detoxification. So far this semester, 14 students have been so admitted to university hospitals-most of them 18- or 19-years old. Beginning this week, university policy will direct the Office of the Chancellor to formally notify parents and guardians when \their son or daughter has been involved in a gravely serious situation,"" including detox. This action is both inconsistent and dangerous for underage students.
Chancellor Wiley is pursuing this policy because ""it is our [university's] hope that parents will influence their student differently than our staff and help reduce the number of these incidents in the future."" An inconsistency lies, however, in the fact that this policy will only apply to students under 21.
If the university were truly genuine in its concern for students' well-being, they would enforce a uniform standard for all students, regardless of age. Given this clear discrepency, it is our fear that the university is not being entirely forthcoming. Hopefully the formalization of this policy is more than a hasty response to the highly publicized UW-Madison ranking as America's number one party school.
The bottom line is that heavily intoxicated students seeking treatment expect their confidentiality to be preserved. If students know their parents will be notified, they may be less likely to seek help. If a parental notification phone call or letter accomplishes anything at all, it is to put the most vulnerable students at greater risk.
