Studying in the US: Rules about alcohol

时间:2009-07-04 05:37:42

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

The legal age for drinking alcohol in the United States is twenty-one. Underage drinking is a crime but also a common part of college social life. This week in our Foreign Student Series, we look at alcohol policies at American colleges and universities.

Never too young: A drunk-driving accident is acted out for students at a high school near Los Angeles as part of alcohol education efforts
Never too young: A drunk-driving accident is acted out at a high school north of Los Angeles as part of alcohol education efforts
These policies differ from school to school, as do enforcement efforts. But many schools have been moving to strengthen their rules.

The United States has more than seventeen million students in higher education. Each year, 1,700 of them age 18 to 24 die from alcohol-related road crashes and other injuries.

600,000 more are injured while under the influence of alcohol. And almost 700,000 are attacked by another student who has been drinking.

These numbers, from a two thousand five report, are on a government Web site: collegedrinkingprevention.gov.

One behavior that college officials are trying to prevent is binge drinking, having four or five drinks or more in a short period of time. Some researchers have found that students who think binge drinking is normal often overestimate1 how much other students really drink. A person can die of alcohol poisoning.

At the University of Oklahoma, new policies went into effect after a 19-year-old student died in 2004. He had been drinking heavily at a fraternity party.

Now alcohol is banned from allfraternityandsororityhouses and university housing. Student organizations can serve alcohol at events but only on Friday and Saturday nights. And they must provide for transportation to and from off-campus parties. Other new requirements include an alcohol education program that first-year students take online.

The policies govern behavior on campus and off. With a first violation2, students pay seventy-five dollars and their parents are told. They must also take an alcohol education class. For a second "strike," they have to pay one hundred fifty dollars. A third strike means a suspension3 for at least one semester.

Since January of two thousand five, six hundred thirty-three students have had a first strike. Thirty have had a second strike -- and one has been suspended. An official at Oklahoma tells us the aim is not just to punish but to change behavior and the culture at the university.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Transcripts4 and audio files of our Foreign Student Series are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.


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1 overestimate Nmsz5Y     
v.估计过高,过高评价
参考例句:
  • Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
  • We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。
2 violation lLBzJ     
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯
参考例句:
  • He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说,那是违反规则的。
  • He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。
3 suspension 0rMw2     
n.悬挂,悬浮液,暂缓,未决,中止
参考例句:
  • The local authorities decided to build a suspension bridge over the river.地方当局决定在这条河上建一座吊桥。
  • A four-day suspension was imposed on her.她被勒令停职4天。
4 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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