News Analysis: Few to be affected by new U. policy

Officials said only a handful of incidents would require parental notification. Although the University is considering a new parental notification system for alcohol-related incidents, the proposed policy is unlikely to affect most students at all. On Monday, a University committee charged with exploring the issue recommended that parents be notified when their children are involved in "frequent or serious" violations of the Penn alcohol policy, when they engage in assaultive behavior or if they cause property damage. Notification would only occur after the Office of Student Conduct officially finds that a student violated Penn policy. Because the terms of the proposal are relatively broad and call for a case-by-case judgment before notification, many have voiced concerns that it gives administrators too much leeway in determining exactly what falls under the new policy. And students have expressed confusion over what types of violation will trigger parental notification. A cornerstone of Penn's new alcohol policy states that students should not face disciplinary action for seeking hospital treatment. Since parental notification would only stem from disciplinary action, it would not come into play for students who are hospitalized or who accompany friends to the hospital. Instead, the proposal focuses solely on incidents which lead to disciplinary action from the OSC. And very few students fall into this category, according to OSC Director Michele Goldfarb. "Realistically, it probably wouldn't affect the typical student," Goldfarb said. Goldfarb cited internal figures from the 1997-98 school year that showed 34 alcohol-related conduct incidents. Of those, Goldfarb said, only a "small handful" would be subject to the notification policy. According to Goldfarb, carrying an open container in public, underage possession of alcohol or possession of alcohol in a University residence hall would not be subject to the policy for first-time offenders. Only students who seriously damage property or are involved in assaults would run the risk of parental notification on the first offense. And in those situations, Goldfarb said, students often seek the help of their parents anyway. "I think the main message is that this is not a sweeping change and it's not a change that's likely? to impact significant numbers of students," Goldfarb said. "And when it does impact them, in our opinion it's appropriate." The University's decision to address this issue is the result of congressional legislation last October, which granted school administrators the right to notify parents as they see fit. Previously, the law was interpreted by most schools to mean that notifying parents was a violation of students' privacy rights. Penn's proposed policy does not apply to students over the age of 21 and applies only to conduct incidents that are alcohol-related. Other colleges and universities across the country are dealing with the situation in a variety of ways. At the University of Delaware, which has one of the nation's strictest alcohol policies, a letter is sent to the parents of students who violate any of the school's alcohol regulations. In addition, Delaware students who violate the policy three times are kicked out of university housing and face possible expulsion. Goldfarb noted that Penn has clearly taken a different approach to the problem, explaining that the policies at other schools, like Delaware, have no "discretion" separating serious incidents from minor. "This office has never had a cookie-cutter approach to any of these disciplinary issues," Goldfarb said, emphasizing the need to examine each individual case. "We really believe that context matters because we're in it for the business of education." University Alcohol Coordinator Stephanie Ives agreed, explaining the importance of seeking student input on the matter. "I think it's a very responsible stance by the University to ask its community," she said. In the end, Goldfarb said, the proposal is intended as just another way of combating the issue of alcohol abuse on the Penn campus. "It is not my hope that parents would be the first line of hope," Goldfarb said. "But in certain circumstances, their input and help might be critical to a student's success here, and that would be the policy's goal."