The Idaho State Board of Education is asking the state’s colleges and universities to study the issue of substance abuse among their students.
Lewis Clark State College President Tony Fernandez says it’s a problem familiar to those who work in higher education. “There are issues that are growing, and have been growing, over the last ten or fifteen years, on college campuses, when it comes to substance abuse, be it alcohol or drugs.”
Fernandez spoke to the Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday. The Board was expressing concerns about the issue on the state’s college campuses.
The Board has asked the colleges to look at the problem and report back in June.
Board members praised efforts by the University of Idaho to examine the problem following the recent death of a university student. An autopsy showed that the student left a fraternity party with high levels of alcohol in his system.
UI President Duane Nellis has formed one task force to examine university policies regarding alcohol and substance abuse and another to look at the university’s relationship with fraternities and sororities.
Copyright 2013 Northwest News Network
