Alcohol a big college danger

Each year, 1,400 college students -- an average of four per day -- die due to alcohol-related injuries. And while Penn has not had an alcohol-related student death in several years, the numbers in the new study still cause concern among administrators.

These latest figures are according to a new report released last week by a task force of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a branch of the National Institutes of Health.

Alcohol use also contributes to approximately 500,000 injuries, 600,000 cases of assault and over 70,000 incidents of sexual abuse or date rape annually among college students aged 18 to 24, the report said.

The NIAAA's report, "A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges," is based on a comprehensive analysis of over two dozen studies -- including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National College Health Risk Behavior Survey and Harvard University's College Alcohol Survey. The study was lead by Ralph Hingson, the associate dean for research at Boston University's School of Public Health.

In an NIH news release last Tuesday, NIAAA Acting Director Raynard Kington called the report and the studies it analyzed "an urgent call-to-action for educators, researchers, students and society in general."

The last alcohol-related student death at Penn was in March 1999, when College graduate Michael Tobin died after excessive drinking at Phi Gamma Delta. Tobin's death led to a change in policy that temporarily banned alcohol on campus.

The task force's ideas for the prevention and intervention of alcohol abuse on college campuses are built on a multi-level approach that targets at-risk individuals, the student population in general and the college and surrounding community.

"I think we were all kind of shocked by the magnitude of the problem," Director of the NIAAA Office of Policy and Public Liaison Geoffrey Laredo said. "The fact that there is more of a dialogue than there was is really a positive outcome... This is the beginning of a new phase of this conversation."

Specific strategies include the formation of campus and community coalitions, consistent enforcement of minimum drinking age laws, restrictions on alcohol retail outlet density, increased pricing of alcohol and the reinstatement of Friday and Saturday morning classes at colleges to prevent students from going out on Thursday and Friday nights.

Penn Alcohol Policy Initiatives Director Stephanie Ives described the recommendations made by the task force as "very comprehensive." She explained that issues such as the price and accessibility of alcohol are definitely "critical factors" in determining alcohol use in a college environment.

Ives also echoed the NIAAA's view of alcohol-related issues as a campus-wide problem.

"This really is an issue of an entire community," Ives said, echoing the NIAAA report's multi-level approach. "It's about everyone in the community being willing to take the responsibility to reduce high-risk drinking."

Ives added that "many of the [NIAAA's] recommendations... Penn has already been working on for the past several years."

The NIAAA report also noted the national trend in binge drinking, which is defined as at least five consecutive drinks for men and four for women. Binge drinkers -- who account for over 40 percent of undergraduate populations -- consume approximately 70 percent of all alcohol used by college students.

Jennifer Jacobs, adviser to Penn's Drug and Alcohol Resource Team, said that although the numbers in the NIAAA's report are "distressing," they are based on best guesses and estimates and need to be looked at "with a critical eye."

"I think that it'd be dangerous to take it at face value," Jacobs said, explaining that DART examines this type of research but focuses more locally on the situation on Penn's campus. "We try to focus on the people... who make healthy choices... [to] project a more positive, a more realistic viewpoint."

Ives agreed, noting that while the NIAAA report is based on several legitimate studies, "it's important to recognize that... that number is an estimate" and that alcohol use does vary by campus.

Data released earlier this month by the University's Office of Health Education indicates that binge drinking among Penn students has actually seen a decrease recently. According to an online survey of 2,500 undergraduates that was conducted in February, binge drinking rates have declined from 49 percent in 2001 to 43 percent in 2002.

The University's survey also indicated that 10 percent of students reported alcohol-related injuries, and that 4 percent had been involved in a physical fight due to alcohol consumption since the beginning of the academic year.

According to the NIAAA report, several factors -- including affiliation with a Greek organization and athletic participation -- put students at higher risk for alcohol consumption.

The NIAAA report also said that the number of students who abstain from drinking has risen from 15 percent in 1993 to 19 percent in 1999.

According to the Penn study, only 14 percent of students reported having abstained from drinking over the course of the current academic year, while 20 percent said that they drank only a few times.

Both the NIAAA report and the Penn survey noted a comparable impact of alcohol use on academics, with 26 percent of Penn students reporting that they missed at least one class due to alcohol use.

"Part of the developmental stage is that college students don't feel that bad things will happen to them," Ives said, noting that students' reactions to the newly-released figures is likely to depend on their own past experiences.

Lindsay Jaffee, a College junior and co-president of DART, echoed Ives' sentiments.

"The fact that there are four alcohol-related deaths a day is shocking to me," Jaffee said, noting that DART tries to "make people aware of the dangers of alcohol" and incorporates the results of Penn's studies into its workshops.

She added that the results of the NIAAA's study "should hopefully make people think twice about their own behavior."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.