Drinking and partying in high school have not changed much since 1982, the year Brett Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when they were both teenagers.

Kavanaugh, who has denied the accusation, is now a Supreme Court nominee.

But the allegation has raised questions about the prevalence, the morality and the legality of risky behaviors by young people. Has the dynamic of drinking and sexual assault among high schoolers changed much over the years?

"[The parties are] usually at one of the kid's houses, and the parents aren't there," said Alayah McIntosh, who graduated in May 2018 from Norfolk Academy in Virginia.

"Usually, there will be kids hanging out inside the house, all throughout the house. Sometimes, there are hookups going on in different rooms in the house," McIntosh said.

Experts say numbers show those behaviors have declined, but only slightly. Underage drinking by 12- to 20-year-olds gradually declined between 1993 and 2013, according to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health.

Statistics about sexual violence are less clear. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) says sexual violence has fallen by half in the past 20 years. However, a study by the National Institute of Justice suggests that reporting rape to police when it occurs has become more common in recent decades.

Another risk for girls and young women is being drugged into sexual submission. Drinks can be "spiked," usually with hard alcohol, or can be laced with a sedative called Rohypnol, also known as "roofies."

McIntosh described a friend being drugged, or roofied, against her will at a house party.

"She thought she was watching her drink the whole night, but she ended up getting roofied. We never found out who did it. She wasn't drinking heavily at all. It was like, her second drink. She thought she was OK, but then she started stumbling around, and she ended up passing out," McIntosh said.

"High school party culture is sort of like college party culture — still a ton of drinking," said Nate Tinbite, who attends John F. Kennedy High School in Glenmont, Maryland, and is the president of the Montgomery County Student Government.

Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that she feared Kavanaugh was "going to accidentally kill" her during the alleged incident in 1982. Her testimony has led more girls and women to come forward with their own stories.

Ananya Tadikonda, a student representative on the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland, said the party culture and male behavior described by Ford is not more prevalent in private schools than it is in public.

"Assault culture is so pervasive," Tadikonda told VOA. It would surprise her, she said, if more girls came forward to report their assault.

"Especially if it's a young girl that's my age. Because honestly, it took this many years for Dr. Ford to come forward, and that's because there's such a societal condemnation and victim-blaming culture that exists," she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, underage drinkers (aged 12 to 20) account for 11 percent of all alcohol consumption in the United States.

"I know that a lot of kids in my year drank," said Isabel Cabezas, an alumna of Holton Arms (Ford's alma mater). Cabezas chose not to drink alcohol until college, but she said many of her friends drank, and she was often left out for refusing to participate.

"I can recall one incident where I was not invited to a party after a dance because I did not want to drink," she said.

The memory of the drinking culture at her school contributed to her believing Ford's testimony, which moved her so much that she spent a day at the U.S. Capitol with other protesters. Counterdemonstrators were also there, supporting Kavanaugh.

"All of her claims are so credible," Cabezas said of Ford. "So, I wanted to go support her because I think that it definitely is seen as a last-minute political move. But when you take a step back and consider that she started writing this letter to her congressperson before it was announced that Brett Kavanaugh was the nominee, I don't think that it's a political last-moment movement at all."

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)