Alcohol and Other Drugs at KU

Happy 21st Birthday!

Note to Parents

Your student's 21st birthday is cause for family celebration. It's a big event and seen as a final passage to adulthood. You remember when they learned to sit up, talk, and walk. You still play an important role in your student's life. We invite you to explore the 21st birthday site and talk to your student about his or her plans for the big day. Consuming alcohol is now legal for your student. The concern is how your student exercises this new status: legal drinker. Don't be afraid to tell them that too much alcohol can kill you.

Many of the so-called 21st birthday celebration traditions are binge drinking. Students who engage in binge drinking are more likely to:

  • Miss class
  • Fall behind in their schoolwork
  • Get in trouble with a campus authority figure
  • Engage in unplanned sexual activity or unprotected sexual activity
  • Damage property
  • Be injured
  • Attempt to drive a car while drunk

We want your son or daughter to celebrate many more birthdays! Give them the gift of caring and share with them how to celebrate safely.


The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 W. Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS, 66045, (785)864-6414, 711 TTY.