Being away at college can be an exciting, challenging and stressful experience, especially if it’s your first time away from home. Establishing an active social life and spending time with friends in between classes can help make your time on campus more enjoyable. Most colleges have no shortage of parties and social gatherings. If you’re age 21, you can legally consume alcohol in Kentucky. However, alcohol-related issues, such as facing DUI charges, can negatively affect your academic performance and can place your entire college career at risk.
The negative implications of an arrest for DUI in college may start to unfold immediately after your arrest, when you have to call home and inform your parents or legal guardian of the circumstances. What happens after that depends on numerous factors.
A DUI can spur suspension of revocation of scholarship funds
You might be one of many Kentucky students who were able to attend college because you received a scholarship. This scholarship might be in connection with participation in sports or because of your academic achievements. Either way, if you wind up getting into legal trouble because of a DUI, the school or whomever it was that offered the scholarship might decide to retract the offer.
If you were depending on scholarship monies to go to college, it’s understandable that having your scholarship taken away could place you in a position where you’d be unable to return to school the next semester, perhaps permanently.
You might incur a driver’s license suspension, which can cause problems
In Kentucky and most other states, colleges often invite students to participate in work study programs. It wouldn’t be uncommon for you to have to drive to work. If a police officer arrests you for suspected DUI, you might undergo a license suspension, especially if you refused to take a Breathalyzer or other chemical test following your arrest. If you can’t drive, you might not be able to get to or from work. This might cause you to lose your job, which, in turn, causes even more problems.
There could be jail time and substantial fines in your near future
Another after-effect of a DUI arrest is that a Kentucky criminal court judge could sentence you to jail time if he or she hands down a conviction. You might also have to pay substantial fines. As your case is adjudicated, it’s likely that you would have to miss a few classes on campus here or there due to scheduled court appointments.
There are often ways to get things back on track if the police have arrested you for DUI at a Kentucky college. Seeking guidance and support at the start is wise because it enables you to rely on a personal advocate during court proceedings, which can increase the chances of obtaining a positive outcome.
- Facebook
- Twitter
- LinkedIn