Picture your student applying for a job after they graduate from college — with social media and easy access to the internet, one of the first tasks an employer will do is "google" a student. If a student was arrested or did something "dumb" that was printed in the Daily Nebraskan, do you think that employer will still bring them in for an interview?
An arrest record today can impact people in many ways it did not when modern parents were young ...but that's just one of the risks related to alcohol.
While there are a number of changes that occur during the first year of college, alcohol use is often one of the most challenging to deal with. Students may believe that most of their peers are drinking alcohol and thus feel more pressure to do so as well, which may result in unwanted and/or dangerous consequences.
In 2016-2017, the percentage of first year students at Nebraska that reported that they either abstained from alcohol or drank, but did not binge drink*, was 79.8%.
*Binge Drinking is defined as 5 drinks for men and 4 drinks for women within a 2-hour period.
This type of information is important to share with your sons and daughters because it dispels the perception that all of their peers are drinking and drinking excessively. When students realize that they’re not alone in either abstaining from alcohol or, at the very least, controlling their drinking, they feel more comfortable declining the invitation to drink at social events.
In fact, binge drinking among all ages of students at Nebraska has fallen from a high of 62% in 1997 to 37% in 2016.
Watch these videos to find out some students’ impressions of the college drinking scene.
Although more and more students are choosing to abstain from alcohol use and practice responsible drinking, high-risk drinking is still a concern at the university. As you visit with your student about drinking at college, having accurate information helps initiate the conversation and allows you to speak with confidence and credibility.
This website features interviews from students, parents and administrators at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Wesleyan University. Although this website is intended for the parents of UNL students, it is important to note that young adults in the city of Lincoln, enrolled, employed or both, socialize together and often share similar experiences related to their transition to college life.