To some extent, that's an acknowledgement to the reality that colleges and universities aren't just a place/time to learn, but also be exposed to new things, an

To some extent, that's an acknowledgement to the reality that colleges and universities aren't just a place/time to learn, but also be exposed to new things, and 'trying shit out'. Basically, universities are this bizarre bubble between childhood and the 'real world', where bizarre halfway rules apply. I'm pretty sure it's been seen that way for quite a while. It's also pragmatic. If you handed out 'real' punishment to everyone, they would be so brain boggling drowned in paperwork (this is also ignoring the serious drop in enrollment). Honestly, with drinking and drugs, the universities' goal is really to a) make sure no one gets hurt on campus and b) make sure they never actually have to punish anyone. The hope is that the 'warning' scares the kids off enough so they go about their drinking and doping in a smarter way so they hopefully won't be caught again. And for what it's worth (this completely depends on location I guess... at least here in Waterloo), if you're caught underage drinking, or smoking pot pretty much anywhere by anyone who isn't a police officer, you're likely to just have your stuff confiscated, a stern talking to, and kicked out on the threat of calling the popos. It's just way easier that way for everyone.