An estimated 1,400 college students die each year in drinking-related accidents, according to a report released last week by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
In response to this, and to a recent Harvard report detailing trends in risky alcohol use among college students, a committee of Georgetown students, faculty and administrators have produced strategies to improve alcohol-related problems on campus.
The NIAAA report concludes that despite attempts by colleges and universities to address heavy drinking through alcohol education and personal counseling, the percentage of U.S. college students reported to “binge drink”?five drinks in one sitting for males, four for women?has remained constant at approximately 44 percent since the early 1990s.
“The reason for the apparent lack of impact, according to [the NIAAA report] is that patterns of college drinking are so ingrained that they are likely to change only in response to broad efforts to alter the culture and social norms both on campuses and in surrounding communities,” reported the Washington Post on Tuesday.
In a article published by the Associated Press wire, Vice President for Communications Dan Porterfield and Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies Bette Keltner said that the committee, which was formed last summer, have unified around three values: reducing the harm of dangerous, excessive alcohol use, bolstering a sense of responsibility among students for their community and treating students like competent adults.
Some strategies that the committee has pursued to deal with alcohol-related problems have included educational programs with resident assistants, sponsoring speakers on alcohol-related issues, as well as encouraging better student-faculty relationships.
“The group was looking at polices [that were in place already] that are serviceable … We looked at other universities’ policies to see if they would be a good match with our campus culture,” Keltner said.
In the article, Porterfield and Keltner noted that a recent survey showed that 98 percent of Georgetown undergraduates said that they look out for their friends when drinking.
“Something exists here where people overwhelmingly say that ‘I watch out for my friends,’” Keltner said. “That gives us something to work with.”
Keltner added that she was surprised to find out from surveys that 20 percent of Georgetown undergraduates said that they do not consume alcohol. She added that she perceived that the amount of alcohol-related problems at Georgetown were about average when compared to similar institutions.
She clarified that the aim of the committee is not to ban alcohol on the University campus. She added that there is a difference between activities focused on alcohol and activities where alcohol is served.
“Alcohol or eating are activities that can be activities in and of themselves or ones that accompany others … drinking can be therapeutic,” Keltner said.
Porterfield and Keltner stress the importance of involving students in solution-building process. “It’s essential to develop and equal partnership among students, faculty and administrators,” the article states, “[T]here’s no way to make a dent without student ownership. A university exists for students, and, without their insight and leadership, well-meaning initiatives won’t fly.”
“This committee has taken students’ perspectives more seriously than another else I’ve done on campus,” said former Georgetown University Student Association President Ryan DuBose (CAS ‘02), who is a member of the committee.
DuBose said that he felt that the committee’s could help decrease the alcohol-related problems on campus by fostering community. “I think that if we present more alternatives on campus for students, where alcohol is or is not served, it will improve the sense of community,” he said.
Keltner said that she was optimistic, but retained a realistic perspective on the future.
“I am realistic … What we have wanted to deal with is harm reduction, emergency room visits and vandalism,” she said. “We have cultivated a new generation of leaders that will work on this issue … I expect it to grow next year to sustain the momentum,” she said.
