Mount Vernon High School Hosts Forum About College Drinking Culture

“The Perils of the College Drinking Culture” drew a modest crowd Wednesday night at Mount Vernon High School, but the message behind the event had a huge impact.

The event was a part of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County Public Schools and its Countywide Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking.  The panel heading up the discussion included local law enforcement, a medical doctor, a student at George Mason University, and a mother whose daughter graduated from MVHS, but ended up dropping out of college due to alcohol and drug addiction.

The most dramatic part of the evening was a 36 minute film called “Haze.”  The film told the story of Gordie Bailey, an 18 year-old college freshman at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Gordie had only been on campus three weeks when he was found dead on the floor of his fraternity house.  He had been left on a couch to “sleep it off” after drinking copious amounts of alcohol during a fraternity pledge event.

Rising senior at George Mason University Patrick Keough said the culture of drinking in college is more intense than ever.

“There’s a lot of drinking games,” Keough said.  “It’s shifted a lot from social drinking to competitive drinking.”

Keough explained that even if a student has tried drinking in high school, it’s a whole different world when you go away to college.

“It’s definitely a lot more freedom. In high school, eventually you have to go home.  In college, there are no penalties,” Keough said.

Organizers hope this event will be an eye opener for parents and their college bound students. 

“They need to understand the culture they’re walking into,” said Sara Freund, chair of the Unified Prevention Coalition's Countywide Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking. Freund encouraged parents to talk to their kids, and research the school their students are heading to.

“They should learn as much as they can about the culture of the school, its alcohol policies.  And they should stay in touch,” Freund said.  “Parents can continue to be a voice to their kids. Seventy percent of kids still say they listen to their parents.”

After the movie, parents, teens and educators were encouraged to ask the panel questions.  Many were curious about how to expose more students to realities portrayed in the film.

Organizers hope at the end of the day, more students will feel empowered to make their own choices and not just go along with the drinking culture.

“Their perception is everyone is doing it,” Freund said, “but that’s just not the case.”