Issue date: 9/29/04 Section: Opinion

"In Loco Parentis" translated from Latin mean "in place of parents." This phrase has come to describe the idea that colleges and universities must act like a parent to the students that they educate.

However, the city of Boston has decided to try to bring the idea of "In Loco Parentis" back to life. The Boston City Council recently brought up an ordinance that would require local colleges to provide a list of off-campus students to the Boston police Department and Inspectional Service Department.

The idea behind this ordinance is to hold college and universities accountable for student's behavior at rowdy parties. They believe this would help curb unruly student parties and drunkenness.

The first question I need to ask is why does Suffolk University need to be responsible for my actions?

Let's say, I go to some party in Allston, cause a ruckus, break some street signs and then choke on my own vomit.

Where does Suffolk University come into this? Every action that I took that night, from going to the party, to breaking stuff, to my eventual demise as I choked on my own puke, is something I did on my own. It's not Suffolk University's fault I died like a rock star.

Also, why does the BPD think it can curb parties and student drunkenness with some inane list? Drunken students and loud parties will forever be a part of college life. Underage drinking and crazy parties will never go away; in fact they should be embraced. Students spend millions of dollars in this city. A lot of that money surely goes to alcohol and party supplies. Having parties and buying beer is good for the economy.

The thing that really gets me is that this whole thing is such reactionary garbage. There are hundreds of thousands of students who go to school in the Boston area.

Just because one kid from MIT or BU drinks himself stupid and dies, there has to be some sort of crack down.

That's like shutting down the freeway every time someone crashes their car. I don't want to marginalize those kid's deaths but come one. As a great person once said "Shit happens."

The real reason that the government is able to do things like this is that as a voting bloc, the student's bloc is just not strong enough. That basically means that they can shit on us and get away with it. They would never propose a ban on old people driving because of safety concerns. Old people just vote more than we do.

So next time when you tip a car in a drunken rage, choke on your own vomit or just pass out in a pool of urine, realize Suffolk isn't responsible.

I for one take pride in that fact that all my drunken actions are my own damn fault and that's the way it should be, God Bless America for that.

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