Editorial Columns

Curbing Excessive Drinking is Work of Entire Community

Newspaper headlines graphically reveal the consequences of excessive drinking by college and university students. Alcohol-fueled violence, automobile accidents, and deaths are all too common. All university presidents have heartbreaking stories about students who abuse alcohol.

Frustrated, we often ask each other if there is a way to break these patterns among college students. Despite efforts to reduce high-risk drinking on campuses, 44 percent of college undergraduates still report "binge drinking." Even more troubling is the fact that this figure has remained virtually unchanged over the past decade.

Heavy drinkers currently consume two-thirds of all alcohol drunk by college students. It is paramount that we find a way to help these students curb their dangerous behavior, which can lead to profound health, social, and economic consequences. Fatal accidents, assaults, and the increase in "rioting" often involve the abuse of alcohol.

How do we effectively intervene to alter this behavior and encourage safe and responsible decisions about drinking? First, college administrators must make high-risk drinking on campus one of their top priorities as they shape the culture of their institution. Parents should not be shy about asking college administrators what they are doing to address the issue.

Education itself is a good starting point. This week I received an interactive CD titled Alcohol 101 Plus, developed by The Century Council, a not-for-profit organization supported by the distilled spirits industry. It contains real-life scenarios that visually convey choices, decisions and consequences faced by students in college settings where alcohol is present. More than two years in the making, this educational package involved input from students, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and more than 50 on-campus practitioners.

Evidence compiled over the years suggests that a combination of aggressive educational programs, like Alcohol 101, stricter enforcement of campus policies and state laws, and increased availability of alcohol-free social and recreational options have proven effective in preventing high-risk drinking in college. Limits on alcohol advertising and restrictions on the supply and access to alcohol have also had some success.

At Penn State, we have integrated all of these approaches into our growing attempts to manage the environment that influences student behavior. Since 1996, we have offered late-night alcohol-free activities that attract thousands of students every weekend; we have expanded our recreation center; and we have established substance-free housing. We also have implemented a parent notification policy involving alcohol and drug violations and are deeply involved in educational partnerships with the state and our local communities.

Despite our efforts, alcohol is still the No.1 drug of choice among our nation's youth. The problem of excessive drinking typically begins well before a student comes to college. A recent report concludes that "America has an epidemic of underage drinking that germinates in elementary and middle schools."

The study reported that underage drinkers account for one-fifth of the nation's alcohol consumption. Another recent national survey said that by the end of high school nearly four out of every five students have consumed alcohol, and nearly half of them have done so by 8th grade. According to the American Medical Association, about 10 million American youth under 21 drink alcohol. Nearly half of them drink to excess. The average age at which young people start drinking is 12.

Research has shown that the earlier a child begins drinking, the more likely that child will have an alcohol problem as an adult. In addition, the human brain is particularly susceptible to damage during high school and college -- prime drinking years. This sometimes long-term and irreversible damage increases the risk of social problems, school failure, depression, suicide and violence.

It would be naive and simplistic to assume that we could ever eliminate drinking by college students. Our objective is not to eliminate alcohol but to change the behavior of excessive and underage drinking to new norms of academic and social responsibility. This can be accomplished through a comprehensive approach that involves education, collaboration with parents, increased community involvement and changes in university student social events.