Hissy Fits, False Accusations, and Some Normal People Respond to WELS Documented

Anonymous complainers excuse themselves by blaming
a blog they claim no one reads, no one respects, no one follows.
They always have their nappies in a knot,
because they do not have any faith.

http://welsdocument.blogspot.com/2015/02/back-on-wednesday.html?showComment=1423182895131

1. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2015 at 4:21 PM

   Anyone else notice how comments and whole articles seem to disappear from this blog. Almost as if Joe Jewell and Lidtke are hiding something....

   Reply
   Replies

   
   Dr. Joseph JewellFebruary 4, 2015 at 7:44 PM
   While I'm a regular reader, I am not the proprietor of this blog, nor have I ever contributed anything to it.
   
   When I write, I use my name. One of the reasons that I am outspoken is because I have that luxury as one who does not depend upon the synod for my family's continued earthly security. I wish more pastors and teachers were outspoken, too, but I recognize that they are much, MUCH more constrained--after all, an anonymous detractor might call out names and append vague-sounding accusations (hiding WHAT, exactly?), as Pastor Lidtke found out tonight. I expect that the authors of this blog are one or more called workers who are anonymous because they do not want targets on their backs. I am saddened that it is so, but I can't say that I blame them.
   
   I am one of four administrators at the "WELS Discussions" Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1649010391990081/), which I encourage all to visit and participate in, but we are not affiliated with this blog.
   Reply
2. 
   Pastor Paul LidtkeFebruary 4, 2015 at 4:41 PM

   So, a friend emails to tell me that I've been outed as an author of the WELS Documented blog. Wrong guess. My son is involved at WELS Discussions on Facebook, and I do comment on there on occasion, but I'm not hiding a thing. I've let Joe Jewell know that he's been outed as well. I'm sure he'll respond soon. What disappeared?

   Reply
3. 
   AnonymousFebruary 4, 2015 at 6:42 PM

   This blog should go the way of all the rest. Gone.

   Reply
   Replies

   
   AnonymousFebruary 5, 2015 at 10:30 AM
   I disagree with your blanket statement. Some of the blogs may have been objectionable but others served a noble purpose. I for one mourn the passing of Intrepid Lutheran's as an active blog. It was insightful, well moderated and informative. A beacon of light and a call of reason to a synod that is deliberately steering a course from sound practice and inevitably from sound doctrine. It appears though that those steering the ship prefer the siren call of Evangelicalism to sound Lutheran practices.
   
   Eine arme Schaf
   Reply
4. 
   AnonymousFebruary 4, 2015 at 8:00 PM

   Well, I'm not going to say a blog should go away. Dialogue is good. But I do think that as soon as the blog descends into the same rut as the others, with exactly the same voices, it no longer adds value. Look at the WELS Discussions page. Good idea, some posts contain some good conversation. I enjoy much of it. But as soon as the same ultra-confessional, academically-minded moderators enter the conversation, there is no room for other voices. If you're going to moderate an online conversation that encourages multiple viewpoints and is mutually beneficial for all, you need to maintain neutrality and respect all participants. Earn trust, in other words. There isn't a forum online right now that has succeeded in this regard.
   
   Why am I anonymous? Because these forums haven't earned my trust. Ichabod is a big reason for this. His approach is not to edify, enrich, and build up. (i.e. It is not a Christian approach.) He is not trusted or respected, and he prevents forward progress.

   Reply
5. 
   AnonymousFebruary 4, 2015 at 8:10 PM

   Why was the subject of alcohol in the WELS colleges and prep schools considered so "dangerous" that the page disappeared? Can the WELS never admit that it has failings? I wonder how bad that poor woman who authored "Shattered Pulpits" was "beat up" before she called it quits? As far as pastors bearing burdens confidentially, unfortunately I have known some who, because the congregation is fairly small, and they give examples of sins without naming names, it is still extraordinarily simple to identify the person they are referring to. And often the 8th commandment applies to everyone but them...

   Reply
6. 
   AnonymousFebruary 4, 2015 at 8:31 PM

   I was the one who shared the comments about it being a sensational blog title. The comment at 8:00pm on this thread was also me. Let's make this easier. I will always sign my posts with "Your brother".
   
   The topic is important. If there are those who believe there is an institutional problem, let's talk about it. But the blog title and the picture of a guy pounding a beer were highly sensational. That approach prevents dialogue. We were actually making strides to bring the conversation around to beneficial dialogue, but then it was removed. Perhaps it was because the post was not written in the Spirit of Christian love, and the author knew it. I do not know.
   
   For what it's worth, I do not believe there is a cultural problem with drinking at MLC. I do think the COS parties and Northwestern holdover traditions are unhealthy and rarely encourage Christian behavior. If the conversation is to abolish those, great. Let's have that conversation.
   
   Your brother
   

   Reply
   Replies

   1. 
      WELS DocumentedFebruary 5, 2015 at 9:24 AM

      Thanks for you feedback Anonymous 8:31, we took the post down, because we didn't want to even give the appearance that we were after sensationalism. The original intention of the post was, as you stated in your last paragraph, to discuss groups like COS but I didn't want to specifically target them in the title because that seemed wrong also so I was trying to go generic.
      
      You said, "Let's have that conversation". Do you have any ideas/suggestions on a better way of bringing up topics like that for real discussion without coming across as sensationalism? Was it mainly the title and graphic that gave that appearance?
      -WD1

   

   Boycott the Emmaus Conference
   

Suspended Blogs Are Like Abandoned Houses - I Always Wonder, "Who lived there and why did they leave?"

Norma Boeckler's illustration comes from the key Gospel passage
of the Old Testament - Isaiah 53, almost completely reproduced in the New Testament.

I gathered the suspended blogs in one area on the left and added Bad Vestments, a non-Lutheran yet revealing blog about worship insanity and inanity.

Whenever I walk past an abandoned house, I wonder about who built it and who lived there. Why did they leave? Plenty of them can be found in the quaint town of Jerome, Arizona, built on top of a mountain of copper, funding a fortune that built Las Vegas as a train depot and financed an entire quartet of Stradivarius strings. Read Empty Mansions for details.

Denominations are like those empty mansions ordinary houses. We live in an age where the tradition of liturgical worship and historic texts has been abandoned. The evidence remains here and there. People are turning old churches into theaters and homes. Emergent church morons are ripping out pipe organs and installing pit bands.

Here and there, the neo-gothic spires continue reaching to the sky.

Instead of leaders, we have tele-tubbies using baby-talk
to part us from our doctrine, our worship, our Means of Grace, and our money.

WELS Pastor Steve Spencer Answers the Knee-Jerk Hysterical Response To the Truth about the Sect. WELS Documented Blog and the Erased Post

His Holiness, Pope Otten, told Team Ichabod
that WELS was exceptionally thin-skinned.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Avoiding Blog Sensationalism

Blog Sensationalism

As many of you know, we removed our last post because several found it to be crossing the line into sensationalism. We do not want to give that impression in any way, so we removed it.

That being said, we are now looking for feedback on how to share not only the positive that is happening in the Synod, but also allowing discussion of important issues and "hot topics" without crossing the line into sensationalism.

One of our readers has been making some great points with his comments, that can be seen below, on how to accomplish this, but we would like to hear from others also with suggestions.

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From the comments: 

Anonymous February 4, 2015 at 8:31 PM

I was the one who shared the comments about it being a sensational blog title. The comment at 8:00pm on this thread was also me. Let's make this easier. I will always sign my posts with "Your brother".

The topic is important. If there are those who believe there is an institutional problem, let's talk about it. But the blog title and the picture of a guy pounding a beer were highly sensational. That approach prevents dialogue. We were actually making strides to bring the conversation around to beneficial dialogue, but then it was removed. Perhaps it was because the post was not written in the Spirit of Christian love, and the author knew it. I do not know.

For what it's worth, I do not believe there is a cultural problem with drinking at MLC. I do think the COS parties and Northwestern holdover traditions are unhealthy and rarely encourage Christian behavior. If the conversation is to abolish those, great. Let's have that conversation.

Your brother

*****

  

WELS Documented February 5, 2015 at 9:24 AM

Thanks for you feedback Anonymous 8:31, we took the post down, because we didn't want to even give the appearance that we were after sensationalism. The original intention of the post was, as you stated in your last paragraph, to discuss groups like COS but I didn't want to specifically target them in the title because that seemed wrong also so I was trying to go generic.

You said, "Let's have that conversation". Do you have any ideas/suggestions on a better way of bringing up topics like that for real discussion without coming across as sensationalism? Was it mainly the title and graphic that gave that appearance?
-WD1

*****

Anonymous February 5, 2015 at 10:39 AM

I guess the main reason it seemed like sensationalism to me is that the numbers you shared already answered your question: no, according to these statistics, drinking is not a "growing problem" at these institutions. But people hear what they want to hear. Guys like Ben Wink and Greg Jackson are eternally bitter (for who knows what reason, but they are deeply personal). But the more important people are those who don't have inside knowledge or preconceived notions. How does an article like that help them? How does it benefit the institutions that have provided us countless, faithful called workers?

However, I do think there are certain problems that need to be addressed. Maybe this forum is a good place to ask, is there anyone out there who has experienced COS, grassers, whatever, and now in hindsight sees any redeeming quality? If you're under 25, you're too close to the situation. I mean those who have matured through a service to people and now can look at the situation with a degree of separation. My experience was that they were drinking events, period. The dancing that accompanies it is heavily influenced by the drinking, which leads people to behavior that would bring shame to them in the light. In my experience, the majority of the drinking was done by those who were of legal drinking age, but it was done in excess. (And even if not in excess, the act of drinking was glorified through the event.) So can we raise enough of a public concern to have MLC administration notice? Might someone bring our collective thought (if there is consensus) to the MLC leaders in person? That could be a positive outcome of this forum.

But don't let me be the only voice here. Some may feel there is an institutional problem. Some may feel that the cultural norm is drinking, and that it is a routine practice on and off campus. But that is not the campus I experienced. There were certainly people who would fall into this category, but they were marginalized. The campus "culture" was much healthier than the behavior of the deviants. Of course we can share stories of those who erred. But most are repentant, and by grace they are forgiven. 

Thank you for your willingness to engage in this conversation. I appreciate your openness and your desire to be a light in this world.

Your brother

*****

WELS Documented February 5, 2015 at 11:25 AM

Wow Anonymous 10:39 those are some excellent points! I really appreciate your insight on how to improve the way things are presented in blogs. I will definitely be putting more thought into things like choosing titles, etc. I also like your method of how to present a topic initially.

Do you think there are also specific "topics" that blogs like this should refrain from because there can be "no good" that come of it? Part of what I was trying to do with some of the posts was to help separate fact from Internet rumor and I think your points above will help do that better. Maybe I need to use your method and just ask, "Is this fact or rumor" and let people weigh in? Would that help avoid the sensationalism, but yet still have a meaningful discussion? Thanks again.
-WD1

*****

 Anonymous February 5, 2015 at 11:45 AM

I'll only share a brief thought, since I think it's important for others to weigh in. Sure, there are topics that I wouldn't touch, out of respect for the individuals affected. But I also think that some of the "hot-button" topics can be productive conversations if moderated effectively. Tone matters, thorough research matters, respect for brothers and sisters matters.

An example: your post about a sermon clearinghouse was a great topic. A few more details were added in the comments to show that, in fact, each of these pastors are writing their own sermons but they are doing sermon study together and sharing promotional materials. This practice is also common in many more "conservative" circles, but probably without the public marketing component. But then WELS Discussions splashed it out there without the added details and allowed the conversation to proceed as though none of these pastors were writing their own sermons. "How dare they! I would never allow this. Rah, rah, rah." Do you see the difference in approach? Same topic, two approaches. One mutually edifying, one not. 

I'll take a break. :) God bless.

Your brother

*****

From a different person:

Anonymous February 5, 2015 at 1:54 PM

A slightly different take on the 11:45 AM comment by Your Brother. On some of the more controversial topics - perhaps a moderated debate between Pastor's willing to discuss an issue in depth and respond scripturally to points raised. On those issues disallow comments from the general public. Just a thought.

Eine arme Schaf

Once Again - Tradition Is the Jumping Off Point

Michigan Lutheran Seminary, WELS,
has supplanted tradition with radicalism.

"Tradition is the democracy of the dead." When past saints are denied the vote, a tiny minority takes over in the name of improving the Church.

We can tell when a denomination is dead or dying when tradition no longer matters. Church and Change means, "We despise Christian tradition and adore our own opinions."

Change or Die means - "Traditional Christian faith and worship will kill our beloved pan-Lutheran identity."

Missouri began dying, without knowing it, by embracing a counter-Christian dogma: Universal Objective Justification. The bishop's spread of syphilis, his young female groupies with the clap - those were just were the obvious signs of something gone wrong. For CFW Walther, tradition was his Bishop Stephan - anything else was anathema sit!. As 29A said, "The got rid of a bishop and ended up with a pope, CFW Walther."

The Christian Church has traditionally taught justification by faith, which began with Abraham in the Old Testament, Genesis 15, and continued (sometimes undercover) ever since.

When we find church leaders who scoff at tradition and treat tradition as the enemy, then that group has become apostate.

The death spiral is marked by church leaders punishing and expelling traditional clergy.

Are they offended by young men doing girly-girl videos or by those who question this aberration?

Do they argue that only one person objects, that he is the cause of all their conflicts? 'Tis funny how many people they count as the "only person who feels that way."

Going to Miss Miss Schori - The Episcopalian Presiding Bishop Who Consecrated Her Drunken Sister Bishop

Katie? My best recruiter.

WELS is only a few conferences away from women District Presidents.

Nothing rocks shades like a purple cassock and ID lanyard.

"But I have the heart of a king and the stomach of a king."
Queen Elizabeth the First she is not.

Funny Drunk Stories

Ski and Glende promoted The CORE as a coffee house ministry,
but they turned it into a bar ministry. 

I am not against social drinking, but I question the necessity of lubricating ecclesiastical meetings with cash bars, as WELS and Roman Catholic clergy do. Both are notorious for their alcoholic clergy.

I met with a Holy Cross priest at Notre Dame, part of my requirements for one course. His nose glowed red all the time. Over-indulgence causes gin blossoms or ruptured blood vessels.

Notre Dame theology conferences always began with a cash bar, just like the WELS worship conferences. One theologian showed up drunk and gave his talk, which might have been a comedy sketch on TV, it was so bad.

At one WELS district meeting, the nurse-missionary was obviously intoxicated when she was speaking to everyone.

I waited on alcoholics when I worked at my father's bakery. Sometimes they thought they were quite eloquent. They might not have thought so if they listened to tapes of themselves. They were nasty drunks. WELS pastors, protecting Holy Mother Sect, sound like nasty drunks - full of themselves, irrational, hyper-irritated know-it-alls.

If you want to hear another version of WELS talking points, endlessly repeated, then listen to drunks talk. WELS clergy say, "If you can find a perfect synod, join it, and then it will not be perfect, because you just joined it, and you are imperfect." (That excuses all false doctrine and every form of abuse.) Drunks say, "Let go and let God." And - "I'm sick and I'm tired. And I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired." That must be clever, too, the first 100 times.

At one convention, an LCA pastor got so drunk afterwards, when we all went out together, that a younger woman offered to drive him back. He could hardly walk, so he must have been many drinks ahead of us when he arrived.

At another event, an LCA pastor was so desperate to keep drinking that he offered to buy drinks for anyone who stayed with him. Everyone left him, and he was fairly young, already deep into his addiction.

One WELS pastor was so addicted that he gathered all the apples from a member's apple orchard, the leftovers, so he could brew apple jack for himself.

I know a WELS member who was in charge of dragging the pastor out of bars. I guess that was a bar ministry.

One WELS pastor drove his car up a utility pole in a DUI. He became a WELS missionary.

One WELS DP was arrested on a DUI, so the synod moved him to another district, so everyone could forget it happened.

Does anyone think an alcoholic father is a good example to his children, wife and congregation? But WELS and the other sectarians will not admit to their addictions.

WELS really needs more bar ministries, so drunken clergy can drink while pretending to take the Gospel to their fellow drunks. And the WELS Gospel is so appropriate for that ministry - Every sin---past, present, and future--is already forgiven. UOJ.

WELS bought this bankrupt bar for Ski and Glende,
then loaned the congregation enough money to
clean up the vomit smells and make a fakey church out of it.

WELS - Martin Luther College - "But far too much drinking among far too many students went on far too many times."

Dean Wormer, it is a great way to get a call
and Church and Change grants.

Benjamin Wink

1 hour ago  -  Shared publicly

And these are just the incidents on campus where people were caught.  And these are just the instances on campus for that matter.  When I attended MLC, COS and the like advertised the drunkfests right in the dorms.  "Get a cute copyright infringing t-shirt and help us fund this booze filled nonsense!"  There were local farmers that wouldn't let the pig roasts happen on their land because the drunken rowdiness from the MLCers was well known.  The amount of drunken debauchery was quite amazing for such a little college.  Now does this happen at college?  Most certainly.  But should this happen with students who are supposedly going there for a higher calling?  Now the faculty could most certainly snuff this out, but they won't and/or don't.

You're not there to sow wild oats.  You're there to be trained in the Word.  You're there to learn the languages.  You're there to learn how to manage a classroom and teach a child to read.  Christ is supposed to be the focus.  However, this school is no biosphere that protects and shields from sin.  Far from it.  Did everyone drink themselves into a coma?  No.  There were plenty of us that did not.  But far too much drinking among far too many students went on far too many times.

I find it sad that they struck those stats off of the WELS Documented blog.  Of course some of the called workers that read it can be all sanctimonious now I suppose and say things like "This helps no one."  Yet they should remember a time when they helped carry a drunk up the stairs into their dorm room.  Maybe they were the drunk.  Maybe they even had bottles of the stuff in their rooms.  And the cycle continues.

***
GJ - I preserved the missing article here. 

Truth about Bishop Cook's DUI Should Sober Up WELS, Missouri, and ELS/CLC. Alcoholism Is a Big Issue for the "Conservative:" Lutherans

Heather Cook's bishop (left) and presiding bishop (right)
both knew their new colleague was three sheets to the wind
before her consecration..
No problem.
WELS moves their drunks - TEC consecrates them.

Episcopal bishop indicted on 13 charges, including homicide, in biker’s death

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/episcopal-bishop-indicted-on-13-charges-including-homicide-in-biker%E2%80%99s-death/ar-AA8ZkjH

Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook was indicted Wednesday on 13 charges in the death of a Baltimore bicyclist, including homicide, drunk driving, texting while driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore City State’s Attorney, had announced Jan. 9 that her office was charging the 58-year-old cleric from the Diocese of Maryland with killing Thomas Palermo on a Saturday afternoon in December while he was out for a ride.

Prosecutors have said since January that Cook could face more than 20 years in prison.

Cook, who has been in a treatment facility since the accident, has a court appearance scheduled for Friday, but her attorney David Irwin said it is likely to be procedural and the case continued.

Since the accident, details of Cook’s past drinking have come out, raising questions about what Episcopal officials knew and whether she was receiving any support since becoming the Diocese of Maryland’s first female bishop last year. Cook was charged in a dramatic 2010 drinking-and-driving incident, the bare bones of which top diocesean officials knew when they selected her as a candidate, but which they did not share with the broader body that voted to pick her.

Initially reluctant to share details regarding Cook’s personal life, officials have been speaking more frankly in recent weeks as Episcopalians have demanded answers. Bishop Eugene Sutton has appeared at two public question-and-answer sessions on the case and a third is scheduled for Feb. 11.

On Tuesday, Sutton’s office said they didn’t push Cook to discuss her drinking last spring when her 2010 drunk-driving arrest appeared in a background check, explaining that they were trying to respect her privacy. Cook is technically still the number two bishop in the diocese, though officials have asked for her resignation.

On Monday the diocese set off debate when it posted a new, detailed timeline showing Sutton suspected that Cook was drunk during a pre-consecration dinner two nights before she was officially made a bishop in the fall.

The timeline also says Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, leader of the Episcopal Church, who presided over the Sept. 6 service that consecrated Cook, was also made aware that Cook may have been drunk during the dinner.

***

Joel Lillo: "WELS Document took this article down for some very good reasons.  I would expect that you would do the same, Greg, if you were a decent human being.  Of course, I've long since given up hope of that."

GJ - Fox Valley WELS Pastor Joel Lillo is upset about the truth coming out, but he was never bothered by the clergy abuse perpetrated under the influence of booze in his own circuit.

Clergy students who drink themselves blind and brag about their sexual conquests are bound to come to naught in time.

First of all, they have deep-rooted spiritual problems, if they have drink that much, seduce girls dumb enough to be seen with them, and brag about their loutish behavior.

Secondly, if they are drunks in college--as many WELS clergy are--they will become physically addicted to alcohol. As Heather Cook demonstrated, alcohol in the car was not enough. She had a pot pipe during her first DUI in 2010.

Cook was undergoing three forms of therapy for her alcoholism when she was consecrated a bishop. At that point she probably had to drink in the morning to avoid withdrawal symptoms (the shakes - aka the hair of the dog that bit you). 

Herman Melville has a poignant description of alcoholism in Moby Dick. He calls it a robber that is invited into the home, robbing everyone of peace and happiness.

Once the physical addition is added to the spiritual problems, the troubles mount. One problem is the cost of alcohol, coupled with the cost of lying. Where is the money going? Where have you been?

Drunks have black-outs, when they forget entire days - terrifying. Drunks also have hallucinations, the pink elephants. One told me in the hospital that Martians were shooting beams at him. He showed me the burns. 

Drunks also lose control of their impulse control and fall prey to many more illnesses and accidents. Their livers give out and they develop distended bellies from the alcoholism

Some drunks want to fall asleep, and use alcohol as a liquid pain killer. There are many who are nasty, vindictive drunks. They destroy many relationships with their words and actions. Some of them do not repent until they are utterly alone.

The church leaders are not doing anyone favors by ignoring the symptoms, as they did with Heather Cook.  Ecclesiastical meetings continue to be surrounded by the temptations of alcohol, because "everyone drinks" and they all have a good time, right? That only makes things worse for the vulnerable,  and it paves the way for the next generation of alcoholics.

How many more victims are needed to make this stop in the Christian Church. The Scriptures forbid ordaining drunks and giving alcoholic laity positions in the congregation.  Ah, but the bigger the scandal, the more extensive the cover-up. Ask Mark Schroeder, Matt Harrison, and Pope John the Malefactor.

Correction - There Is No Problem with Drunken WELS Students and Pastors - No DP Had a DUI. No Mequon Professor Had a DUI. Studying Under the Influence - All Ichabod's Fault

Joel Lillo commented on Is Alcohol Becoming More Of Issue At: “Of course Herr Ichabod picked up on this. I really think that this could have been best unreported…”

Anonymous commented on Is Alcohol Becoming More Of Issue At: “It's a sensational blog title. Those who have a preconceived bias will lap this stuff up. The…”

Anonymous commented on Is Alcohol Becoming More Of Issue At: “The statistics say "Drinking Violations." It is a violation to have alcohol on the MLC…”

Anonymous commented on Is Alcohol Becoming More Of Issue At: “Those numbers are pretty impressive. MLC had absolutely no reportable offenses except for…”

***

GJ - I reproduced the article on alcohol violations here. Good thing. Maybe I should get auto-plagiarism software so I can preserve WELS blogs before they are erased with their comments. The comments were still hanging in midair the WELS Documented Blog when I clicked on the article again to check out all of them.

Joel Lillo never had a problem with Ski's drinking habits. In fact, he wrote back that he knew nothing, even after the letter was sent around the Anything Goes District, to every pastor. That letter included accounts of Ski having 100 ounces of beer for lunch, drinking on the job, etc.

WELS pastors know they have a problem with alcoholism. The eruption of stories from time to time should remind people that one known violation suggests many more problems. Not every incident of drunk driving ends with a ticket or a crash.

I knew I was talking to a WELS alcoholic when he told me that drinking plus Valium potentiates the alcohol and its effect. Many problems followed that helpful bit of advice, but no one did anything, even when I contacted a supervisor and asked him to get involved.

To summarize the erased comments:
1. The problem is the sensational title of the article, not the alcoholism of WELS students while they are already in school. However, the official magazine of WELS published an article about excessive drinking at Northwestern College and sent someone around to talk about it at clergy meetings. I read the article and heard the speaker.
2. Another problem is one blog copying another one - that is evil. Being drunk on the job is no problem. Mowing down people with a car is no problem - just reporting the problem that caused their murder by a drunk.

Thomas Palermo was killed by Bishop Heather Cook's drinking, texting, and driving.
His wife is a widow, and his children are fatherless.

The bishop who knew about the alcoholism has pronounced himself innocent.

WELS SUIs - Studying Under the Influence

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Is alcohol becoming more of an issue at our synod colleges?

Underage Drinking at
our Synod Schools

Is drinking and alcohol becoming more of an issue at our Synod Schools? Are there groups like "COS" at Martin Luther College that facilitate the use of alcohol? How much of a problem is it, if any? What about at the high school level? Does it happen in our synod high schools also? What can be done to reduce the occurrences? The 2014 data has not been released yet.

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Martin Luther College
 

Liquor Law Violations on Campus in Student Housing Facilities -

2009 - 22 drinking violations

2010 - 07 drinking violations

2011 – 12 drinking violations

2012 – 21 drinking violations

2013 – 26 drinking violations

Liquor Law Violations On campus -

2009 - 25 drinking violations

2010 - 14 drinking violations

2011 – 22 drinking violations

2012 – 27 drinking violations

2013 – 28 drinking violations

Data Taken from the 2011 Annual Security Report

Data Taken from 2013 Annual Security Report

College Sophomore 22 days ago
Party Scene: There is like no partying that's worth going to. COS or DEX stink and are just people drinking off campus. Source.

College Freshman Dec 31 2014
Greek Life: It does not affect our campus at all. People throw wild parties, yes, but it is low-key and not in the way of us non-greeks. Source.

College Freshman May 6 2014
Drug Safety: Since we are located in a small town, there isn't much to do, so people resort to drugs and alcohol, but I rarely hear of drugs, just alcohol. Drugs and alcohol are not permitted on campus, so if you are caught, you must pay a fine.Source.

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Wisconsin Lutheran College

Liquor Law Violations on Campus in Student Housing Facilities -

2009 - 18 drinking violations

2010 - 45 drinking violations

2011 – 38 drinking violations

2012 – 25 drinking violations

2013 – 41 drinking violations

Liquor Law Violations On campus -

2009 - 18 drinking violations

2010 - 45 drinking violations

2011 – 38 drinking violations

2012 – 25 drinking violations

2013 – 41 drinking violations

Forcible Sex Offense in Resident Hall - 
2012 - 2 Forcible Sexual Offenses
2013 - 2 Forcible Sexual Offenses

Data Taken from Annual Security Report Statistics

College Junior Jul 20 2012
Administration: Dry Campus – WLC is a dry campus and that means that even if you are legal you still cannot bring alcohol onto the campus. It doesn't mean that you can't drink off campus but you are not allowed to come back drunk and if you get caught then you will either be suspended or expelled. However they are not the best at following through on their punishments or the meetings that they want to have to discuss the situation with the students envolved. Source

College Sophomore Jul 24 2012
Administration: Dry Campus – Drinking on campus is prohibited, but if you are of age, they have no problem with you drinking off of campus. If you are underage and you come onto campus drunk, you are considered an open container of alcohol and, if caught, you can get into some pretty serious trouble. They are a little more strict on this policy then other private/religious schools, but it doesn't seem to bother most of the people I have talked to. Source.

Being drunk at college
leads to drinking on the job -
no problem in WELS.