Spring Break
Colleges start working to combat binge drinking
Pauline Vu
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: News
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WASHINGTON - More than 200 universities require incoming freshmen to take AlcoholEdu, an online course that informs students about drinking's impact on the mind and body, before enrolling in school.
To many college students, binge drinking and everything that goes with it - beer pong, keg stands and $1 shots - are a rite of passage, as integral a part of the college experience as midterms and all-nighters.
But to college administrators, drinking too much is a hazard to students' health and safety. As a result, officials are addressing excessive drinking with tactics such as moving classes to Friday to prevent "Thirsty Thursdays," convincing nearby communities to limit drink specials like ladies' night, and requiring incoming students to take online classes about alcohol use.
"The academic and social consequences are just very high, to say nothing of the value of humaan life," said University of Mississippi spokesman Mitchell Diggs, who listed a litany of potential ailments that go along with binge drinking: crime, falling grades and death.
Alcohol abuse by college students is a rampant problem. A March study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reported that 3.8 million full-time college students, or 49 percent, regularly abuse drugs or binge drink, which is defined as five or more drinks at a time for men, and four or more drinks for women.
Even the federal government is worried. In March, the U.S. surgeon general issued the office's first call to action to stem underage drinking, with recommendations for parents, schools, colleges, communities, governments and even the alcohol industry on how to stop the abuse. The surgeon general asked colleges to end alcohol advertising in campus newspapers, provide more alcohol-free late-night events, and shift more classes to Friday to "shorten the elongated weekend" that has students binge drinking by Thursday night.
The University of Iowa - ranked 12th on the Princeton Review's list of top party schools - is answering that particular call. Starting in the fall of 2008, the school will move more classes to Friday.
To many college students, binge drinking and everything that goes with it - beer pong, keg stands and $1 shots - are a rite of passage, as integral a part of the college experience as midterms and all-nighters.
But to college administrators, drinking too much is a hazard to students' health and safety. As a result, officials are addressing excessive drinking with tactics such as moving classes to Friday to prevent "Thirsty Thursdays," convincing nearby communities to limit drink specials like ladies' night, and requiring incoming students to take online classes about alcohol use.
"The academic and social consequences are just very high, to say nothing of the value of humaan life," said University of Mississippi spokesman Mitchell Diggs, who listed a litany of potential ailments that go along with binge drinking: crime, falling grades and death.
Alcohol abuse by college students is a rampant problem. A March study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reported that 3.8 million full-time college students, or 49 percent, regularly abuse drugs or binge drink, which is defined as five or more drinks at a time for men, and four or more drinks for women.
Even the federal government is worried. In March, the U.S. surgeon general issued the office's first call to action to stem underage drinking, with recommendations for parents, schools, colleges, communities, governments and even the alcohol industry on how to stop the abuse. The surgeon general asked colleges to end alcohol advertising in campus newspapers, provide more alcohol-free late-night events, and shift more classes to Friday to "shorten the elongated weekend" that has students binge drinking by Thursday night.
The University of Iowa - ranked 12th on the Princeton Review's list of top party schools - is answering that particular call. Starting in the fall of 2008, the school will move more classes to Friday.
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