By: Devin Varsalona and Angela Marshall
She knelt by the toilet, her back against the wall and her knees braced against the cold porcelain as she held the convulsing stranger, who first purged brown chunks and then stomach acid. Keeping his head bowed down, she leaned hers as far away as possible, gagging at the vile smell. It was her first night of college, and she was already well on her way to acing Alcohol 101.
For many Long Island teens, similar images fill their memories of the first night of college. Christine, like many other freshmen, remembers talk of parties within a few minutes of arriving on campus, and within hours found herself at a party with 30 strangers, most of them drinking heavily. Because she stayed sober, Christine ended up wedged next to the toilet, helping someone she had met only hours before.
Christine knew that drinking was going to be part of her college experience. But she never guessed how ÒinsaneÓ it would get so quickly. She barely drank in high school, but had been to plenty of parties. None of them, however, compared to what she found at the University of Delaware.
It isnÕt clear who, if anyone, is effectively preparing AmericaÕs students for the pressures of college drinking. StudentsÕ parents, high schools and colleges each seem to have their own agendas for dealing or not dealing with the issue.
Before dropping her off, ChristineÕs parents gave her what she calls Òthe standard college talk for girlsÓ: donÕt walk alone, cover your drinks and go out only with people you trust. There was no in-depth discussion about drinking. Similar, almost flippant conversations took place between parents and many of the students the Herald interviewed about their experiences at out-of-town colleges.
SaraÕs parents told her, ÒDrink responsibly, because itÕs going to be hard-core, and youÕve got to be prepared for it.Ó Barry said his parents told him they knew he was sensible. And AdamÕs warned him not to let partying get in the way of schoolwork. None of the parents invested more than five or 10 minutes on the conversation.
Sara, Barry and Adam all admit to hard-core drinking, including weekend binges. One of them even admitted to handing in a final paper while drunk. Sara said her drinking experience went from Òless frequent to insane, four nights a week, complete drunkennessÓ during her first year at school.
As for advice on dealing with alcohol issues from officials at high schools, Christine said hers didnÕt do anything beyond a lecture on avoiding dangerous actions on prom night. None of the other interviewees could remember anything but admonitions on drunk driving from their schools or an hour spent on alcohol in a health class.
The principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, Dr. Carol Burris, said the school doesnÕt have any programs dealing specifically with alcohol abuse in college, but hosts a program inviting recent alumni to talk with students about college life. She said drinking is often part of that discussion.
In Valley Stream, students are offered a college-survival-skills class, which includes drinking as one of its topics, but it is not required. All students do, however, take health classes in which refusal skills, making the right choices and picking your friends are all covered.
It is in college, after students are already on campus, that many receive their first real discussion of drinking responsibly. By then students are faced with almost daily discussions among peers about where and when the next drink will come.
The amount of drinking varies by school, but even at some of the colleges where drinking isnÕt a main social activity, there is plenty of binge drinking, according to students. Barry said he was approached within eight hours of arriving at Johns Hopkins University, not considered a party school, and every day since. He occasionally drinks heavily on weekends and stays sober for classes during the week. He said about 70 or 80 percent of the student body doesnÕt drink much at all, but that the ones who do drink to excess.
Each year, drinking by college students, ages 18 to 24, contributes to an estimated 1,400 student deaths, 500,000 injuries, more than 600,000 assaults, more than 70,000 sexual assaults, 400,000 incidents of unprotected sex and more than 150,000 alcohol-related health problems, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Some two out of every five college students are binge drinkers, according to MADD. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks at a sitting. What some of the students the Herald spoke with didnÕt know was what a serving size is. One realized she had been drinking much more than she thought. According to MADD, a standard drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits, all of which contain the same amount of alcohol. But almost all students count one Òparty cup,Ó 16 ounces, as one drink.
Over the past few years, many college officials across the country have realized the extent of the drinking problem and formed programs to fight it. The federal government began offering grants in 1999 to encourage innovative alcohol-abuse-prevention programs. But these efforts are inconsistent from campus to campus, and many students make a game of getting around them.
Jason, a student at Sacred Heart University, said he was caught drinking in a friendÕs dorm but told the resident assistant that he was just visiting the school, getting himself out of what would have been his second write-up in his sophomore year. So elated that heÕd gotten out of the warning, Jason continued drinking that night to the point where he could barely walk, tried to unlock his dorm door with his cell phone and fell over, slamming his head on a wooden bench. When he woke up, he couldnÕt feel the right side of his head. He said his parents still donÕt know how much he drinks. ÒIÕm not the party one in the family, or so they think,Ó he said.
Adam, a student at an Ivy League school, said his college instituted a fraternity party registration rule. All frats on his campus are to register any party where non-members are expected to attend. He said many frats donÕt bother to register the parties and are rarely checked by campus security. Students 21 and older are given wristbands at the beginning of the party, but many frats allow underage students to drink as well, and if security shows up, a lookout comes in and tells everybody something like, ÒWithout wristbands, drop your drinks, throw them away or put them down. Wristbands, youÕre fine.Ó
AdamÕs school also banned kegs at non-registered parties, because administrators feel that the large containers encourage over-consumption. ÒSo now we just have cans of beer, and thereÕs more trash, itÕs more expensive and itÕs worse for the environment,Ó he said. ÒItÕs a stupid rule.Ó
James Madison and George Washington universities try to address the issue before students arrive on campus. Starting this year, all of JMUÕs incoming freshman will be required to take an online alcohol course to complete their enrollment. Alcohol education is also on the subject list of JMUÕs required freshman general education course. At GW, all prospective freshmen and their parents are required to attend a program the June before school starts, according to Brian Hamlick, manager of GWÕs Substance Abuse Prevention Center. He said members of his department, judicial services and volunteer students host ÒThe Real Deal on Alcohol and Drugs at GW.Ó
ÒWe roll out the alcohol issue right away, because we do feel that it is a very important issue to discuss,Ó Hamlick said. ÒWhen students leave for home, they have a couple of months with their family, and we hope theyÕre talking about this.Ó
The University of Delaware takes a different route. The one-time easy-going party school has incorporated many rule changes to combat its drinking problem. UD was the first school to make it a policy to notify parents when underage students are caught drinking. The administration also came down hard on Greek life.
ÒEach year fraternities and sororities are evaluated,Ó said John Bishop, associate vice president for counseling and student development, Òand those that do not meet standards, such as by having too many alcohol violations, face suspension from campus or worse.Ó
Christine, who started school a few years after UDÕs crackdown, has heard numerous stories about dorm keg parties gone wild. She canÕt even imagine how severe the repercussions would be if something like that happened now. But that doesnÕt mean students are drinking any less, she said; itÕs just moved off campus. In place of frat parties, students flock to house parties.
Held off campus, these keg parties often consist of hours of drinking games that leave participants slumped over toilets or waking up the next day with little or no memory of what happened after the games began.
While the partying continues, Christine did say that the parent call has caused more than one student to think twice. One of her friendsÕ older sister got caught drunk, and her parents were called. They were so angry that they refused to pay her semester bill, and she had to pay it herself. This didnÕt stop the student from drinking, but it did make her take more care about getting caught, Christine said.
House parties are by no means unique to UD. Tom, a student at the College of New Jersey, said the frats on his campus provide free rides to the open parties. Although heÕs decided that partying in his room is more his style, Tom recalled the many times he went to house parties his freshman year. ÒYouÕre stuffed into a house, itÕs crowded, hot and thereÕs huge lines for the kegs,Ó he said.
In addition to rules and regulations, many colleges are hosting alternative non-alcohol events. Student-run programs like GWÕs ÒTriple PlayÓ and CornellÕs ÒCU2NiteÓ offer free movies, concerts, dances and other recreational events every Thursday, Friday and Saturday late night, to take the place of drinking. ÒStudents are planning events for other students, which is more successful than administrators planning the events,Ó Hamlick said.
Many colleges also provide students with free computer programs like Alcohol 101 Plus, which is put out by the Century Council, a group of distillers working together to fight drunk driving and underage drinking. The program uses virtual-reality situations to show students the consequences of irresponsible drinking. It is aimed at the most at-risk campus populations -- freshmen, Greeks, athletes and judicial policy offenders. Some of the topics covered include alcohol poisoning, alcohol's effect on the brain, safety and regretted sex.
Finding the right campus
The National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism created a federal task force to look into college drinking. In 2002 the task force issued a report calling for a change in the culture of college drinking. While college officials continue to struggle with how best to deal with drinking on their campuses, the task force has issued a brochure to help parents choose the right school for their children.
Three key environmental factors the task force says are likely to accompany excessive drinking are the prevalence of Greek systems on campus, the prominence of athletics and a school's location in the Northeast.
The task force recommends that parents make specific inquires into school alcohol policies and ask how underage drinking rules are enforced and what alcohol-free activities are offered.
Additional reporting done by Nicole Falco and Jennifer Marino.
Top 10 ways to turn down a drink
Thanks, but no thanks.
I've had enough.
Thanks, but I've got a ton of work to do later.
I'd rather get my own, thanks.
Not for me, I have to work tomorrow morning.
I'm driving tonight.
I have a game/practice tomorrow.
I'm OK for now, maybe later.
No thanks, I'm taking medication.
I'm dieting ... alcohol's got too many calories.
Courtesy the Century Council
