Cerritos College
Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

Talon Marks

Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

Talon Marks

Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

Talon Marks

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Colleges go on offense against binge drinking

MCT-More than 200 universities require incoming freshmen to take AlcoholEdu, an online course that informs students about drinking’s impact on the mind and body, before enrolling in school. To many college students, binge drinking and everything that goes with it _ beer pong, keg stands and $1 shots _ are a rite of passage, as integral a part of the college experience as midterms and all-nighters. But to college administrators, drinking too much is a hazard to students’ health and safety. As a result, officials are addressing excessive drinking with tactics such as moving classes to Friday to prevent “Thirsty Thursdays,” convincing nearby communities to limit drink specials like ladies’ night, and requiring incoming students to take online classes about alcohol use. “The academic and social consequences are just very high, to say nothing of the value of human life,” said University of Mississippi spokesman Mitchell Diggs, who listed a litany of potential ailments that go along with binge drinking: crime, falling grades and death. Alcohol abuse by college students is a rampant problem. A March study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reported that 3.8 million full-time college students, or 49 percent, regularly abuse drugs or binge drink, which is defined as five or more drinks at a time for men, and four or more drinks for women. Even the federal government is worried. In March, the U.S. surgeon general issued the office’s first call to action to stem underage drinking, with recommendations for parents, schools, colleges, communities, governments and even the alcohol industry on how to stop the abuse. The surgeon general asked colleges to end alcohol advertising in campus newspapers, provide more alcohol-free late-night events, and shift more classes to Friday to “shorten the elongated weekend” that has students binge drinking by Thursday night. The University of Iowa _ ranked 12th on the Princeton Review’s list of top party schools _ is answering that particular call. Starting in the fall of 2008, the school will move more classes to Friday. The move was discussed for years, but the decision was cemented with the July release of a University of Missouri study that found students with Friday morning classes are less likely to over-imbibe on Thursday. This spring, the University of Iowa averaged 2,438 classes daily Monday through Thursday but had only 1,404 classes on Friday. Associate Provost Tom Rocklin said more Friday classes are just one strategy in the fight against binge drinking. “There is no single thing that will make a dramatic change,” he said. Friday classes aren’t “going to make binge drinking go away. But it’s one thing that will help the problem, so it’s worth doing.” Another tactic to cut extreme intoxication looks at advertising. Two years ago, the California State University (CSU) system put tighter controls on alcohol advertising, such as banning promotion on campus of two-for-one drink specials. This summer CSU-Fullerton hired a student to take down unauthorized campus fliers that advertise drink specials. Several colleges also sponsor alcohol-free events, such as Late Knights at the University of Central Florida, Wildcat WILD Nights at the University of Kentucky, and Friday Night Live events at the University of Cincinnati. But if incentives don’t work, there is always punishment. In recent years, more schools have instituted a two- or three-strikes policy to punish students for public drunkenness or possession of alcohol by a minor. The final strike can result in a semester’s suspension. The University of Mississippi began a two-strikes policy in November, with five suspensions so far. “Ole Miss,” currently No. 2 on Princeton Review’s party-school list, had long discussed curbing alcohol abuse. But the school began its crackdown in earnest when a campus officer, Robert Langley, died in October after pulling over a car driven by a student with alcohol, cocaine and marijuana in his system; the student took off, dragging Langley to his death. Mississippi also joined more than 200 colleges in requiring that incoming students take a three-hour online AlcoholEdu course, which surveys students on their drinking habits and explains alcohol’s impact on the mind and body. At Ole Miss, athletes and fraternity and sorority members also have to take the course. (c) 2007, Stateline.org. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Colleges go on offense against binge drinking