Hearing mixed messages about alcohol use is an unavoidable experience for most university students.
Whether or not they actually drink, they're bombarded with media, Facebook posts and hand-me-down advice from upperclassmen that says binge drinking and raucous parties are the norm among young adults like themselves.
At the same time, university officials continue to scramble to develop programs and strategies to try to discourage abusive drinking before it even starts.
Case in point: Administrators at Washington State University and the University of Idaho are considering multiple recommendations from task forces established to try to address student substance abuse.
WSU plans to make more residence hall floors alcohol-free so underage students aren't mingling with upperclassmen, and campus police officers could begin routine hallway patrols. The UI will show the door to students who earn less than a 1.0 GPA in their first semester, instead of placing them on just one semester of academic probation. And both universities want parents to be more involved - at WSU, for example, parents might be notified the first time their underage student is caught drinking.
We're glad the universities are taking the issue seriously. The task force recommendations will likely reduce drinking among some students who live on campus, and the new policies will be worthwhile if even just one person is spared an ambulance - or hearse - ride because of alcohol.
But we're skeptical about how effective the new policies and programs will be in light of the contradictory messages students receive elsewhere.
People, no matter what age, will find a way to drink if that's what they truly want to do. And in Pullman and Moscow, they can find an excess of off-campus places to do it. On some nights and in some neighborhoods, it's as easy as walking down the street and getting an invite from some friendly, yet usually tanked, strangers.
And getting parents involved doesn't always work. Some parents, for whatever reason, don't get along with their children anymore. Some, sadly, just don't care.
University officials have the best intentions when they institute policies to discourage student alcohol abuse. We applaud the effort. But we fear not much will change without a corresponding, fundamental, nationwide change in the way college students are encouraged to set out and celebrate their youth.
