82 percent of USU students are responsible drinkers
Alcohol binge drinking kills one college student each weekend on average in the United States, said a Wellness Center professional during a presentation at Utah State University.
Jana Carling, prevention specialist at the USU Student Wellness Center, warned of the dangers of alcohol abuse in a presentation to journalism students.
She said surveys show 44 percent of college students nationwide occasionally binge drink, and more than two-thirds of all U.S. college students have to deal with second-hand effects of drinking. The most comprehensive study was done by the Harvard School of Public Health (www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas), she said.
Carling said the studies show how widespread the problem of binge drinking on college campuses is.
Binge drinking is defined as drinking more than five drinks in one sitting, or “drinking to get drunk,” she said. Physiologically, alcohol typically affects women more quickly than men, meaning they get drunk faster, she said.
Carling said she knows first-hand, and not just from studies, the effects of alcohol abuse.
“It affects individuals, families, college careers, also communities and our nation as a whole,” she said. “When we see it happen to that many people it becomes a community issue.”
Problems related to alcohol are the second biggest reason students drop out of college, Carling said. Loneliness is the number one reason for dropouts, she said, and lonely students often turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to gain social acceptance. Students who leave school as a result of alcohol problems miss out on potential rewards, Carling said.
“Their plans and goals for the future are not realized,” she said.
Alcohol is a depressant which, if consumed in large enough quantities, can slow down the brain so much it will stop sending signals for the body to breathe or for the heart to beat, Carling said.
Carling showed a CBS news video which described the death of a Michigan State student due to this type of alcohol poisoning.
Carling said the brain acts like a sponge, absorbing alcohol from the outside in. This means brain functions located on the outside layers, such as judgment, vision, depth perception, logic and reasoning, are the first to be affected by alcohol, she said. She said these functions are necessary for driving a car or even walking. The inner core which regulates involuntary functions like breathing and heart rate are affected next after as few as eight drinks, she said.
Carling said at USU 82 percent of students do not drink or use alcohol responsibly, compared to 56 percent nationally. However, she said a high percentage of USU students who do drink are classified as abusive or binge drinkers, higher, in fact, than the national average.
No one at USU has died from binge drinking, she said, but she knows of many who have had to be hospitalized because of bingeing.
The Student Wellness Center at USU provides free one-on-one and group education about alcohol abuse, but not treatment, Carling said. Students are referred to groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or the Bear River Mental Health Center for treatment, she said. Many who come in are mandated by the local or campus judiciary system, but anyone who wants help can come, Caning said.
“Alcohol abuse affects everyone,” Carling said. “Alcohol is a link to a lot of things that happen in our society.”
The majority of crimes are committed by people under the influence of alcohol, and 25 percent of all visits to the emergency room are alcohol-related, she said. Carling said alcohol abuse costs $24 billion a year in lost productivity, resulting in higher prices. It also results in higher insurance premiums for everyone, she said.
“It always will come back to you as a consumer,” she said.