Study finds increased binge drinking

Despite anti-drinking ad campaigns and stricter school alcohol policies, binge drinking on college campuses is on the rise according to a recent Harvard University study. The Harvard School of Public Health study of 14,138 students at 119 schools, including Penn, showed that two in five college students binge drink. The study defined binge drinking as the consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting for men and four or more for women. It also showed that students today binge drink more frequently now than in prior years. But the number of students on each extreme of the drinking spectrum seems to be growing -- the study also reported an increase in the percentage of students who do not drink at all. Harvard also tabulated exact numbers for each school studied, but they have not released this data. Penn Alcohol Coordinator Stephanie Ives maintained that according to Penn's own research, the binge drinking rate on campus is lower. But she was optimistic about the Harvard survey, pointing out that the results show that the majority of college students -- 56 percent -- do not binge drink. Ives also questioned the accuracy of the study, asking if a 6'3" man drinking six drinks in six hours --which the Harvard study would classify as binge drinking -- was high risk behavior. "The body can process one drink per hour," Ives said. "[The study] doesn't say if a sitting is 10 minutes or three hours or five hours." And College junior Michael Bassik, a member of the Working Group on Alcohol Abuse and Undergraduate Assembly treasurer, suggested that a student's weight and tolerance should factor into the binge drinking equation. "I know people who can drink five drinks and be fine and I know people who can drink five drinks and be in the hospital," the College junior said. Ives said that before she could determine the accuracy of the study, she would need to know the demographics of the students studied -- their backgrounds, class years and whether they were involved in athletics or the Greek system. Ives was also unsure of how many students were surveyed at each school and questioned whether the researchers surveyed a set number or percentage at each school. And despite the implications of an increase in binge drinking at Penn and major attempts to limit alcohol abuse, Bassik said he was not very worried about the implications of the study. "Changing campus culture is not something that would happen overnight," he said. "Hopefully, four years down the road, we will begin to see a change. Those might be accurate numbers, but we're working hard to change those numbers." And WGAA member and former InterFraternity Council President Mark Metzl said that binge drinking is not only a problem on college campuses. "Alcohol abuse is a societal, not just a college issue," the College senior said.

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