Lanae Gehring
Staff Writer
Corban students are drinking alcohol much more frequently than they get caught, according to an online poll conducted by the Hilltop News in November.
In the poll, 25 percent of the students who responded said that they have consumed alcohol while they were under the school’s behavioral contract.
The Student Handbook says that “students may not use, possess, manufacture, distribute, or disperse tobacco, alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs while associated with the College,”—which includes vacation and summer breaks.
Of the 270 people who responded to the anonymous survey,25 percent reported they had consumed alcohol while on a break or holiday, and 16 percent reported they had a drink while school was in session.
In contrast, Student Life workers report that they’ve only dealt with one drinking incident this school year and a total of 19 incidents last year.
Brenda Roth, Dean of Students was not surprised by this number.
“That is probably about what I would expect,” said Roth. “We’re not a police state but neither are we all knowing.”
When Student Life workers find out that a student has been dealing with alcohol use, discipline is exercised on a case by case basis.
“It’s not a cut and dry issue,” said Roth. “The only thing that is guaranteed is that we will provide support. It’s pretty hard to get kicked out, but we have dismissed students for continual patterns of drinking.”
The poll also showed that the most common location for students to drink is at family gatherings, followed by bars/restaurant and off-campus apartments. Only 2 percent of students reported that they consumed alcohol in their on campus room or apartment.
One male student who preferred to remain anonymous said in an interview, “I drink with my mom and dad at dinner and stuff… Kick back a few beers with my homies. I’m 21 so I might have a drink at a restaurant with a friend or my brother or something. I’m not a big alcohol connoisseur to begin with anyways.”
According Jimmy D’Agosta, director of residence life, one of the reasons that it is important for underage students to abstain from drinking is that it affects brain development.
“The use of alcohol can interfere with brain development up untilthe age of 25,” he said.
The majority of Corban students who responded said that they probably won’t decide to drink or smoke even when they are no longer under contract. Many students think that drinking negatively affects their ability to be a Christian witness to others.
One student responded by saying: “I don’t want to ever jeopardize my witness as a Christian. Even if I were only having one drink, I would never want someone to walk by and see me. They would have no idea how much alcohol I was consuming.”