The Norwich Guidon

The Norwich Guidon, student newspaper of Norwich University, is published twice monthly and has won numerous awards for excellence in its class.

Reporters, editors, and managers for The Norwich Guidon are students at the university who work under the guidance of a Communications faculty advisor. Student editors learn electronic pagination using state of the art computer equipment.

If you have any questions or comments about the paper, please contact Professor Ken Bush at kbush@norwich.edu.

Alcohol awareness for young adults sponsored by NAAP

By Scott Craven
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

As students continue their education at the collegiate level, most prepare to take on additional responsibilities, including learning responsible drinking habits.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, one of those "rites of passage" includes the consumption of alcohol.

"The tradition of drinking has developed into a kind of culture," according to a report published by the NIAAA. Unfortunately, the all too often acceptance of college drinking "reinforces the students' expectation that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success."

And while the desirable appearance of the effects of alcohol may tempt many students to use it, the NIAAA suggested that students might want to think twice about the consequences of alcohol before they use it.

According to a recent study, the NIAAA found that 1,400 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die every year as a result of "hazardous drinking." Another half million suffer unintentional injuries while under the influence.

Some students may argue that it's their own body and they can do whatever they want to it. However, according to the NIAAA, students' actions while under the influence greatly affect those around them.

More than 600,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking, according to the NIAAA report. Another 70,000 students are victims of "sexual assault" or "date rape" and 100,000 reported that they were too intoxicated to know if they had consented to sex.

The NIAAA also investigated other consequences of excessive drinking. According to their report, 50 percent of administrators from schools with high drinking levels said their campuses have a "major problem" with "alcohol-related property damage."

Eleven percent of college drinkers admitted to committing acts of vandalism while under the influence, and five percent of college students admit to being involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking.

And if those facts aren't alarming, according to the NIAAA, another 2.1 million students reported driving a vehicle while under the influence in the past year alone.

Apart from the legal consequences of consuming too much alcohol, the NIAAA found that heavy drinking can also lead to many health problems as well as addiction.

The NIAAA report said, "more than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking."

Also in the last year the NIAAA found that 31 percent of college students met the criteria for "alcohol abuse" and six percent proved to be "alcohol dependent."

One of the main concerns is today's "drug-styled society," said Chip Keinath, a Senior Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and advisor for NAAP (Norwich Alcohol Awareness Program).

Users are looking for "immediate solutions," or the so-called "quick-fix" to their problems.

"What's dangerous about this is that students don't realize the long-term effects that drinking can have," Keinath said.

According to Keinath, today's society is much different then when our parents went to school. "The students only see the laws that are preventing them from getting their hands on alcohol but aren't seeing the reasons behind those initiatives.

Norwich is part of statewide program known as the Vermont College Alcohol Network (VCAN), which meets every other month to discuss on-going issues that involve college students and the consequences of alcohol.

Last month's VCAN meeting was held here at Norwich in the library. One of the guest speakers was Jerry Anderson, the Statewide Initiatives Coordinator for the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention.

"We hoped to do a little bit of strategic planning," Anderson said. "Specifically around strategies that the schools can implement on their campuses and within their communities to reduce the high risk and illegal use of alcohol by college students."

Anderson said one of the methods that the HEC promotes is called "environmental management."

According to Anderson, this strategy involves working with the various environments that the students are living in.

One step is taking a look at the "marketing of alcohol," Anderson said. "What is impacting the students? What are they seeing every day?"

Looking at the situation from an economic viewpoint, Anderson said that statistically alcohol is "less expensive" in college towns. So part of the solution here is working with local bars and taverns that "promote excessive use" of alcohol, and either trying to get rid of them or get them to increase their prices, Anderson said.

The other half of the issue is the legal environment. "Are the policies on campus and the state laws being enforced, and are they being enforced consistently?" Anderson said.

According to Anderson, the student's social environment needs to be monitored. "What is out there for them to do?" Anderson said. "We need to provide them with an outlet other than just going to the bar."