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BINGE DRINKING: A 'tradition' we can forgo [Wisconsin]
While many people welcomed in the new year with a drink, far too many people in America figure the welcome wagon should be put to use year-round. Heavy use!
One of the worst examples of that abuse of alcohol continues to occur, sadly, at institutions of higher learning.
A survey among undergraduates conducted by the UW System Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Committee shows how serious the problem is. According to the online survey, which was conducted last spring, a staggering 59% of students who responded said they had engaged in binge drinking at least once in the previous two weeks. The problem was even worse at the system's largest campus where the binge-drinking rate was 66%, compared with an overall national average of 44% among college students.
We understand that drinking among college students is almost a time-honored tradition, but binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks at one sitting, takes it one step further. The idea generally is to consume alcohol as rapidly as possible. In other words, get drunk quick.
As UW officials noted in a report to the Board of Regents, a hangover is probably the least serious consequence. A sobering 21% of the drinkers responding to the survey said they had engaged in unprotected sex at least once in the past year, which officials believe was likely underreported since 45% said they had experienced memory loss or blackouts after their binge-drinking episodes.
More alarming still, 35% of students who drink reported having driven while under the influence, and 14% reported having been a passenger in a car with a drunken driver. Students also said the drinking had affected their studies or caused them to get in trouble with police or campus authorities.
Anyone who thinks the problem is that UW System officials aren't vigilant or tough enough needs to understand how endemic alcohol abuse is. While high school students are smoking less than they did eight years ago, wearing seat belts and bike helmets more and using birth control if they engage in sex, alcohol use and binge-drinking rates are nearly unchanged, according to a survey released last month.
The good news is that UW officials throughout the system are already working on solutions. They include such basic things as cracking down on student-run beer parties, working with local officials and police to regulate happy hours in campus taverns, increasing enforcement of minimum drinking-age laws and conducting more university-sponsored, alcohol-free activities.
The most promising long-term approach that UW officials have come up with is to develop media campaigns to inform students about the price they may pay for a wild weekend. A large-scale effort along these lines, after all, plays to the university's greatest strength education.
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