In an effort to improve the reputation of one of its neighboring
communities, the University of California, Santa Barbara this year
began sending notification letters to parents of students who were
arrested in Isla Vista for alcohol-related infractions.
Isla Vista, which is located near UCSB and is home to many of
its students, is famous for its wild parties, and infamous for
alcohol-related problems.
Brandon Brod, one of three university administrators who
initiated the policy at UCSB, said the policy is aimed at making
Isla Vista a better place for students. He described the Parental
Notification Policy as a deterrent that has been shown to
dramatically reduce second offenses.
“This is quickly becoming the best practice that schools
on the cutting edge should be using,”
Brod said.
Some students, however, are indignant. Clark Yeager, for
example, was arrested for public intoxication last Halloween but
did not see why his parents had to know.
“I wouldn’t have told them if there was a chance
they wouldn’t get a letter,” he said.
There is no Parental Notification Policy at UCLA, and according
to Brian Carlisle, the assistant dean of students, such a policy
would not be in the best interests of the university.
“We hold students accountable for their actions by
treating them like adults,” Carlisle said.
“If a student is a danger to him or herself we would
notify parents, but if a student is carrying a beer around a
residence hall, that is not necessary.”
Carlisle also said that according to his colleagues at Columbia
University and the University of Missouri, the institution of
parental notification policies has caused student outcries.
Brod said there has been “surprisingly little
response” at UCSB thus far.
“I received three comments from students who were mildly
dissatisfied and said that the program was an invasion of privacy,
but there have been more positive than negative reactions,”
Brod said.
Despite Brod’s comment, some students at UCSB ““ such
as Carol Orellana, a 20-year-old student ““ do not feel it is
proper for UCSB to inform their parents about their arrests.
“If I want to keep something from my mother, I think I
should be able to,” Orellana said.
The parental notification policy only applies in Isla Vista,
because the Federal Educational Rights Privacy Act, which protects
students’ educational records, bars UCSB from informing
students’ parents about on-campus alcohol infractions.
University officials have sent out 146 letters during the first
seven weeks of the school year. UCSB obtains the information from
records made available to the public at the local police
station.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.