PA GOP: Expel College Students for Underage Drinking and End their Grants

[JPZenger]

An article on the front page of the Harrisburg PA. Patriot-News describes bills that have been introduced in both the PA. Senate and the PA. House by GOP legislators. The bills would require that every college would have to have a written code of conduct for alcohol. If a student violated the code twice, then:
a) the student would lose all State educational grants and scholarships and
b) the college would be forced to EXPEL the student for a year.

If the student came back to the college and violated the code a third time, the college would be forced to permanently expel the student.

What is particularly amazing is that the expulsion requirement would also apply to private colleges and universities.

How many of us have committed the horrible crime of underage drinking more than twice? I think these old dried up farts have forgotten what is it like to be young.

News article excerpts below:

http://www.pennlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1146129607197610.xml?pennnews&coll=1

"New hangover for student drinkers?
Bills include loss of state aid for violating a college's policy
April 27, 2006

If students violate their college's alcohol policy twice, they could face a severe penalty: the loss of state-funded grants and scholarships. The state House might vote on such a proposal next week...

The proposal to cut off college students' state-funded financial aid is part of a bill sponsored by Rep. Ron Raymond, R-Delaware, that would require colleges to have written alcohol policies. Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, has introduced an identical bill in the Senate.

"Their bills call for mandating colleges to require counseling for first-time offenders; expel second-time offenders for a year; and permanently expel third-time offenders...

"We feel that the mandatory penalties do not fit the crime, especially the decision on mandatory expulsion. That must rest with the institution," said Richard DiEugenio, Penn State's special assistant to the president for governmental affairs."

[DS1]

1. Hey, last time I was there, Camp Pendleton lets Marines drink

underage at the e-clubs, and it was only about 4 bucks per pitcher :crazy:

So, sign up, do all the drinking you want - until you're sent to a Muslim country where drinking is outlawed and you have to ferment your own in a pepsi can in the desert

[BOSSHOG]

8. The DOD changed the rules a few years back

which makes the drinking age of the base the drinking age which is established in whatever community it happens to be in. And the Navy (and maybe other services) have a "deglamorization" of alcohol program; which has really hurt the club business. I do remember the good ole days on both coasts; now there are no more happy hours and their exists (or did a few years back) an aura of paranoia about drinking.

[DS1]

18. I'm surprised they don't switch it back

Join the ( branch here ) - Shoot guns and PARTY!

[acmejack]

22. Good grief....

It used to be the whole point of hitting the beach, hell, I've help carry the Skipper back to our ship. I guess it really is a new Navy.

[NavyDavy]

13. yeah when I was stationed on the CINCLANT Fleet compound

in Norfolk, VA I was 17 yrs old and was able to buy and drink alcohol on base, and in San Diego They had beer machines in the Laundromat on base

[acmejack]

23. Navy Davy?

You weren't in the DavyNavy perchance? 1045?

[Love Bug]

25. You were at CINCLANTFLEET? When?

I was there from 75-77.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. So, does this bill mean that students with rich parents who don't need

financial aid can continue to drink as an underage imbiber without penalty?

[rodeodance]

9. part of the Two Americas's -which takes all forms.

[MADem]

3. When those 'do as I say' assholes went to college, the drinking age was 18

Ya couldn't very well send poor kids off to get blown away in Vietnam without letting them have a beer before they marched off to hell, after all.

Time to cull through the old college photos of some of these 'suddenly strict' bastards. Why do I think there are more than a few of them passed out in their own vomit, engaging in chugging contests, and so forth????

[gratuitous]

4. I hear the dictionary dropped the word draconian

Because "Republican" covers it so well and so much more accurately.

[Ignacio Upton]

5. This is stupid

State College's population would probably drop by at least 50% if they could automatically expel every student who is drinking underage. Also, could they expel them based on evidence from Facebook? You have so many people posting pictures of themselves getting drunk or high, but they never get punished for it.

[msongs]

6. can we expel drunken presidents too? nt

[INDIA]

7. I go to a Pennsylvania university of about 4500

Our first week of school, due to state grants and legislation targeting underage drinking, 100 students were arrested. It was absolute madness. After the police saw how ridiculous it was to arrest a solid 2% of the school in the first week, they laid off. Kids are going to drink underage in college no matter what.

As long as they aren't driving, fighting, breaking property, or urinating in public, lay the hell off! If this legislation passed earlier, I know about six or so friends of mine that would have been kicked out. These are kids who are graduating to law school and wall street jobs. Let the university handle it with their own code of conduct.

[Cassandra]

10. I guess all those frat-boy College Republicans...

will be out on their asses and available for military service.

[rodeodance]

11. more Fed GOP intrustion into University affairs!

......"Their bills call for mandating colleges to require counseling for first-time offenders; expel second-time offenders for a year; and permanently expel third-time offenders...

"We feel that the mandatory penalties do not fit the crime, especially the decision on mandatory expulsion. That must rest with the institution," said Richard DiEugenio, Penn State's special assistant to the president for governmental affairs."

[DELUSIONAL]

12. put the first bitch -- Laura Bush in jail

for killing her ex-boyfriend.

What I really think is happening -- the gop needs more bodies to fight their oil wars.

Kick out students for what students do in college (get drunk) and the middle class kids who can't afford to go to college anymore might just have to enlist. Oh yes -- in the fine print the gop will probably add a line which says if the students gets expelled they have to donate their bodies to the government for any use the government sees fit.

[fasttense]

14. If 17 year olds are old enough to die for their country,

they should be old enough to be drunk doing it.

But really, the drinking age of 21 is ridiculous. If we can send these kids off to war, we should allow them to make a choice when it comes to drinking or not.

[JPZenger]

15. Bills Have Widespread Support by GOP Legislators

Here is a list of GOP House members who co-sponsored the bill. Almost all (and maybe all of them)are republicans: RAYMOND, ALLEN, BALDWIN, BEBKO-JONES, BIANCUCCI, BISHOP, BOYD, BUNT, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CORNELL, CRAHALLA,DALLY, DeLUCA, J. EVANS, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GEIST, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOOD, HARHART, HARRIS, HERMAN, HERSHEY, KAUFFMAN,W. KELLER, KILLION, KOTIK, LEDERER, MARKOSEK, MARSICO, MUSTIO, NAILOR, O'NEILL, PAYNE, PETRARCA, PICKETT, QUIGLEY,REICHLEY, ROSS, SIPTROTH, SONNEY, STABACK, E. Z. TAYLOR,TRUE, WATSON, WILT, YOUNGBLOOD AND DiGIROLAMO.

Here is a link to the actual text of the bill:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2005/0/HB2375P3391.HTM

Here is the key excerpt of the text of the bill:
"(iii) Penalties for alcohol-related offenses while
an enrolled student as follows:
(A) Educational counseling for a first offense.
(B) Expulsion for one year for a second offense.
(C) Permanent expulsion for a third offense.
(iv) Ineligibility for future State-funded financial
grants or scholarships administered through that school
for repeat violations of the policy."

[reichstag911]

16. As soon as they expel GOP congresscritters...

...for over-aged fornicating -- as in screwing the American people.

[underpants]

17. Uh hate to ask but who is going to be left to go to college?

Oh I see you don't want anyone going to college.

[DUHandle]

19. Legislating morality again

sighs

[JPZenger]

20. GOP Bill: RAs Must Report Drinking to State Police

This is part of a package of bills aimed at drinking in colleges that is being pushed by the GOP in PA.

Here is another current bill with a large number of GOP sponsors in the State House. It would require any college employee responsible for overseeing safety of students (including Resident Advisors I assume) to immediately report any underage drinking that they become aware of. This information must then be reported to the State Police by the college.

Of course, that would completely destory any sense of trust between RAs and students.

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2005/0/HB1574P1975.HTM

[JPZenger]

21. I Know One of the GOP Sponsors

I know one of the GOP sponsors. I heard he drank like a fish in college.

[Igel]

24. This is foolish.

Then again, many things are foolish.

It's illegal to sell to a minor or for a minor to possess the stuff in public, but the university should be a bit more permissive with what minors do in their own dorm rooms. Liberals fought to kill the in loco parentis attitude in the '60s, successfully. I saw MADD pushing this crap in the '90s, and the university I was at swallow the bilge. Nothing changed; students just drank with their doors locked instead of leaving them open.

It was distressing to see the Durham-rape threads with liberals arguing precisely for in loco parentis over underage drinking, and even surpassing this moralistic pap in arguing that the Duke should punish adults for engaging in perfectly legitimate, legal contractual arrangements. (That is, the lacrosse team should be punished for hiring a stripper.) Perhaps they decided that race/class-bashing was more expedient and easier than separating the legal, questionable, and criminal acts into their proper categories.

If this passes, it'll be interesting to see what happens when lots of nice, middle class parents find their kids denied financial aid when their little angles run afoul of the law.

I don't support underage drunkeness, to say the least, but kids are going to do it anyway.

[liberalpragmatist]

26. Or reduce the drinking age

The 21-year drinking age is unenforceable and stupid.