Thinking about drinking
From Egyptian beer-making to 1930′ prohibition, alcohol has long been at the forefront of human history and human lives. But for students who abuse it, alcohol can take over their lives.
“[Alcohol] abuse can lead to difficulty in school, bad grades and having to drop out. I’ve seen it happen,” Utah State University Student Wellness Center prevention specialist Jana Carling said. “It can also affect relationships, physical, mental and emotional health, finances, spiritual well-being and even social health.”
According a report authored by Robert F. Saltz, a senior research scientist at Berkeley, drinking and binge drinking are pervasive and persistent behaviors among college students across the nation. Some of the salient findings of the report show that 25 percent of college students occasionally drive drunk and 7 percent suffer unintentional injury under the influence of alcohol every year.
The USU Student Wellness Center stresses the “0 – 1 – 3” approach to drinking, which means that students should not consume alcohol if they are underage, drink no more than one drink per hour (one drink equals one 12 oz. can of beer or a 1 1/2 oz. shot of liquor) when they are of age and drink no more than three drinks in one sitting.
“It is recommended that a woman drink no more than one drink per day and not every day [and] that a man drink no more than two drinks per day and not every day,” Carling said. “Drinking before [a student is] 21 greatly increases your risks for developing an alcohol dependence. It also can greatly affect your developing brain and delay brain maturation.”
Though most USU students drink responsibly, there are some who engage in binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past month) and heavy drinking (consuming five or more drinks in a row on at least five occasions in the past month), especially during their first year at college.
While the 2005 Utah Higher Education Health Behavior Survey claims a much lower percentage of drinkers on Utah campuses than the national average, reporting, for instance, that only 4 percent of Utah students have driven under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the past year, problems related to alcohol abuse and alcoholism still persist at Utah State University.
In fact, the latest Student Wellness Center survey indicated that 6.4 percent of students meet the criteria for alcohol dependence.
“That would mean that 1,009 students need treatment,” Carling said. “If they don’t get help in some way or aren’t able to quit, then their chances for graduation are greatly reduced.”
One of the most noticeable problems among students who drink is that alcohol causes a number of short-term health problems, including headaches, nausea, double vision, blurred vision, tunnel vision, impaired hearing, slowed reflexes, impaired motor functioning and difficulty problem solving or making decisions – all of which hinder a students ability to perform well in classes, Carling said.
“People on our campus suffer from the disease of alcoholism, and others who don’t drink suffer the effects of it,” Carling said.
In 2003, a drunk driver going 50 mph hit Evelyn Petersen, a then senior majoring in family and human development.
According to an article published in The Utah Statesman shortly after the accident, Petersen’s right leg was shattered and her elbow, shoulder, several ribs and clavicle were all broken. Her lung was also punctured and she suffered some bleeding in the brain.
Peterson’s story illustrates one of the most visible societal effects of irresponsible drinking.
According to the Logan City Police Department records, in 2005 there were 204 driving under the influence arrests in Logan, with only three of those arrests listed as injury accidents.
Statistics show that over the past several years, Logan has remained at or around 200 DUI arrests per year. University police only deal with a handful of DUIs each semester because most students quickly leave campus and are then in the jurisdiction of the city. Lt. Shane Sessions of the USU Police Department said that there were 26 arrests for minors in possession of alcohol from the beginning of the 2005 fall semester through December. Sessions said that most alcohol-related arrests are among freshmen.
“We have seen a trend that incoming freshmen are quite high for alcohol-related issues, but that drops down for sophomores, juniors and seniors,” Sessions said. “[Freshmen] come here and they want to experience [college drinking], but they quickly realize that school is for learning.”
Sessions said that over the 18 years he has worked for the USU Police Department, he has seen far fewer alcohol related problems than at other colleges and universities. He attributes the low numbers to the conservative religious climate and the effectiveness of a program sponsored by the Student Wellness Center for minors caught in possession of alcohol.
Several organizations exist to help people struggling with alcohol abuse. The Cache Valley chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is located at 170 1/2 N. Main, aims to help people struggling to overcome a physical and mental dependence on alcohol.
According to their voice message, “Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share there experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.”
The primary purpose of the group is to keep its current members sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. There are no fees for membership. For information on meeting times and places, call Alcoholics Anonymous of Cache Valley at 755-7772.
“There are different places to get help,” Carling said. “Not every program works for every person. Some of the most successful programs are the 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, but there are also public and private treatment centers in every community.”
-mattgo@cc.usu.edu