If you find yourself in legal trouble in Athens, your parents may be alerted to the matter at hand which is not always necessary.
About 30 letters per month are mailed from the Athens Police Department to parents of Ohio University students.
Those letters alert parents that their child has gotten into some sort of legal trouble. Alcohol-related offenses are the most common cause of the letters home, but a driving while intoxicated charge might also warrant a letter home.
That is essentially tattle-tailing on APD’s part.
Maybe we’re naive, but we think most students who get in trouble with the police are likely to tell their parents about the problem anyway.
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The ones trying to cover that fact from their parents might do it for a good reason. The police department does not know what kind of home situation a student is facing.
The practice started in the ‘90s, with the consensus at APD being that parents were most likely paying for their child’s education and, as a result, had the right to know if students got into trouble.
Ohio University also sends similar letters home.
We don’t think either entity should send letters home, unless there’s reason to believe that the student’s health or safety is in jeopardy. Otherwise, sending these letters home is essentially kicking someone while they’re down.
Police departments should conduct a case-by-case review to determine whether sending a letter home is appropriate or conducive to the future of the student.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Emma Ockerman, Managing Editor Rebekah Barnes, Opinion Editor Will Gibbs and Digital Managing Editor Samuel Howard. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
