Drinkers too often being stereotyped
Editor’s note: This is the second article in a two-part series looking at the use of alcohol on Utah State University’s campus. The first ran on Wednesday.
It is impossible to know the statistics of the alcohol arrests of students by group association, because that information is collected at the time of arrest, Steve Milne, USU Police, said.
Jana Carling, prevention specialist at the Health and Wellness Center, said research about alcohol use was not broken down by groups on campus. However, she said students definitely do perceive certain groups of students to be higher users of alcohol, leading them to believe participation in those groups will involve drinking. These assumptions are not always accurate, Carling said, and often students may join a group with false perceptions.
Perceptions
One of the groups on campus largely identified with drinking, but those perceptions aren’t accurate, is the Greek system, said Adrian Sample, Greek council public relations officer and a senior in law and constitutional studies.
Many of the misperceptions come from the media, Sample said, especially from movies and MTV shows that Sample said don’t show an accurate picture of Greek life.
“Every sorority that is chartered on this campus does not permit alcohol on their property,” she said. “You may not have open containers on their property. You may not be intoxicated.”
The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity is also 100 percent dry, member Nathan Putnam, and senior in philosophy, said.
The Greek Council has an alcohol task force, initiated in 1997, dedicated to stopping underage drinking and preventing alcohol abuse, Sample said.
“We have tracked [alcohol and related arrests] since 1997 and it has gone down substantially,” she said. “Even the Logan Police Department has noticed it. In recent newspaper articles they’ve said the fraternities and sororities aren’t getting the cops called on them as much and there are no more noise complaints.”
The banning of open parties has also been a positive thing for the Greek life at USU, Sample said.
“The problems with open parties is they attract a crowd that is not part of that fraternity and cannot be controlled by that fraternity,” she said, “and yet if something happens at that party, that fraternity is going to be blamed whether it be a fraternity member or not.”
A preventive approach has also been taken with the HOWL, Milne said. The HOWL is the time the USU Police see the most alcohol use, Milne said, but the problem is not inside the HOWL activities.
“In our experience, it’s not the alcohol itself that is coming in, but people who have gone somewhere beforehand, maybe a party, and have consumed alcohol and then have come to the HOWL,” he said, “We have officers that are not only in the building where the events are taking place, but out and about to try and prevent it before it even comes into the building.”
Preventing underage drinking is also important to the Greek council, Sample said.
“We do not promote minors drinking,” Sample said. “There are severe consequences in sororities alone and some fraternities if minors are caught drinking.”
Those consequences can include expulsion from a fraternity or sorority, she said.
Sample said members of fraternities and sororities do not drink more than the general population.
“I also think it’s a self-reinforced stereotype where if you have a negative connotation of fraternities and sororities, you’re only going to notice those things about them,” Putnam said. “You’re going to ignore that they raise thousands of dollars for charity or the hundreds of hours each chapter has given in service.”
It’s not that members of fraternities and sororities drink more, Andrew Dilley, a senior in history said, just that they don’t hide their drinking as much as other students do.
“The people in fraternities and sororities aren’t ashamed to drink if that’s what they believe they should do,” he said.
Regardless of Greek status, stereotypes exist on campus, based on false perceptions, Dilley said.
“I think that actual alcohol abuse or misuse isn’t a problem. The problem is that people on campus think that if there’s alcohol on campus there’s a problem,” he said. “Get rid of the AA [Alcoholic’s Anonymous] mentality that if you have one beer then you’re an alcoholic. Get rid of the mentality that having a beer will send you to hell.”
Education
Sample said the Greek Council requires each fraternity and sorority to present a program to its members explaining alcohol laws and educating them about responsible use.
The Wellness Center will also continue to educate students about responsible alcohol use and treat those who may be suffering from a dependence, Carling said.
The Wellness Center received a grant for substance abuse education, Carling said, valued at $68,000-$72,000 per year over the next three years.
This will “significantly increase the amount of prevention we can do on campus” she said.
“If there are students out there needing treatment because alcohol is impacting schooling or relationships, there is still more we can do,” she said.
There are just as many factors for alcohol dependency as there are people who are dependent, she said.
In addition to depression and social pressures, Carling said the lack of teaching people may be a key contributor to dependency.
One of the most affective ways to fight alcohol dependency is the assistance of friends and family members, Carling said.
Signs to watch for are: changes in behavior, activities, friends and mood, and depression, anxiety and interrupted sleep patterns, she said.
Concerned friends should do something, she said.
“Don’t ignore it. Don’t laugh at them for what they are doing. Don’t give any kind of attention to the behavior and then let the person make the choice and recognize it is their choice if they get help or not,” she said.
A variety of resources are available on campus. The counseling center is a resource to turn to, in addition to any adviser or counselor.
One of the biggest challenges to overcoming dependency, Carling said, is that most students won’t recognize they have a problem.
“Nobody ever thinks it’s going to be them. We very much believe we are indestructible,” she said.
-bnelson@cc.usu.edu