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Binge drinking prevalent at colleges BY GREG SUKIENNIK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON — More college stu dents are living in substance-free residence halls, and fewer recall drinking to excess while in high school. Yet binge drinking on col lege campuses is still as common as it was in the early 1990s, a new Harvard study shows. The survey by the Harvard Schoolfof Public Health found 44 percent of college students admit ted binge drinking within the pre vious two weeks — the same per centage found in a 1993 study. “It’s part of the American col lege culture,” Nicholas Pasquale, 20, a second-year student at Boston University, said Sunday. “I don’t know of any college where a large part of the student body isn’t drinking on weekends.” The survey also found, howev er, that universities had made ef forts over the past decade to change that culture. About 65 percent more college stu dents said they were living in sub stance-free residence halls and be ing exposed to alcohol awareness ed ucation. Also, fewer students said they were members of fraternities and sororities, where reported binge drinking rates have been the high est. A growing number of students said they abstain from drinking al together —19.3 percent, up from 16.4 percent eight years ago. Kelilah Miller, 19, a Boston University first-year student, said she doesn’t hang around with peo ple who drink and questioned how much of a public health issue binge drinking is. “What’s society’s responsibility to protect people from them selves?” she asked. The Harvard survey questioned 10,000 students at 119 four-year col leges, and defined binge drinking as four or more drinks iaa row for women, or five or more for men. Out of the traditional college students who drink —18- to 23 year-olds not living with their par ents — seven out of 10 said they had met that definition of binge drinking in the past 30 days. “That’s a staggering number,” said Henry Wechsler, director of College Alcohol Studies at Harvard School of Public Health and lead investigator on the study. “Before, we didn’t see positive trends at the same time as the con tinuation of the binge rate,” Wechsler said Friday. “We didn’t see this kind of illogical presence of trends that should lead to lower rates and a continuing high rate.” “This, to us, indicates very strong forces are continuing to support this level of drinking on campus,” he said. “Those factors need to addressed in policies that colleges take.” The University of Vermont in Burlington, one of 10 colleges tak ing part in an American Medical Association-led initiative to curb binge drinking, found when it joined the program in 1997 that 65 percent of all students admitted binge drinking, said Andrew Flewelling, director of the univer sity’s program. That number is now at 64 percent. “Until the environmental fac tors are tackled, you can’t expect any change,” Flewelling said from Atlanta, where representatives of the 10 schools met Friday. “Alcohol is similar (to tobacco) in the way it is so firmly entrenched in our society.” Another school in the AMA program, Georgia Tech, said its binge-drinking rate decreased to 34 percent from 43 percent in 1999. The Atlanta school succeeded by making its policies clearer and easier to enforce and involving students in forming and imple menting those policies, said dean of students Gail DiSabatino. The school also started inform ing parents when students racked up repeated citations. “All the data that has come “It’s part of the American college culture. I don’t know of any college where a large part of the student body isn’t drinking on weekends.” NICHOLAS PASQUALE SECOND-YEAR BOSTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT back has shown us students are aware of the policies,” DiSabatino said. In the survey, students were characterized as binge drinkers if they had the specified num ber of drinks within the two weeks prior to the survey. Those who had done so three or more times in the 30 days prior to completing the survey were characterized as frequent binge drinkers. Of the students surveyed, 22.8 percent characterized themselves as frequent binge drinkers, up from 19.7 percent in 1993. The researchers also noted an increase in binge drinking at women’s colleges, from 24 per cent in 1993 to 32 percent in 2001. “Even though this is a small group, and one that still drinks less as a group, this is a real change,” Wechsler said. POLICE REPORT / gaMw^n $t. | i i FI/i \ I | \ j | RICHLAND ST. ?\| 111_I |ukjRfa.yr.l- I 1 j I I I fj_ Kf M j n^jBLANftiiiil.J j I I'Sf T&CLOR ST. > x CoTAvioRST. I eft z v> x m Z • x [ m HAMILTON ST. «C| oI|§[ | 5 \ WAS||IN6T0N ST. S| ?5 Jmg! g LADY ST * z F o> o P n = gervHis st= > h !5 3 S * h 3 I “ S ? , 8 j » 3 SENATE ST. 8 ? r±iL x ” PENDLETON ST. <§ COLLEGE St. n u. | . j J ■ |l5c1*2 GREENE sy » } gi IevheW r'J T b'J*A,TL»4LH I | a! BLOSSOMS!. * |! ©* 1 WHSAfST. VIL . © .,." \ F \ 5 /""CATAWBA ST. ~~t.f :"tr T \ « iS!Tl L I >■-' \ > I'M 4— Jtf \ <A \ * i\V WHALEY ST. i—ijr-t—.f-r—:"Ts-r;.k im .f /' ..\ \*l ©HEYWARDST. V£Ha|j8 >4x 41 Each number on the map stands fora crime corresponding with numbered descriptions in the list below. DAY CRIMES (6a.m.-6 p.m.) □ Violent O Nonviolent NIGHT CRIMES (6p.m.-6a.m.) ■ Violent • Nonviolent CRIMES AT UNKNOWN HOURS [3 Violent O Nonviolent Friday, April 5 ® MALICIOUS INJURY TO REAL PROPERTY, 1300 WHEAT ST. The complainant said someone caused damage to the two center columns in the interior courtyard of East Quad. Estimated damage: $10,000. Reporting officer: N. U. Beza. Tuesday, April 9 ® AUTO BREAKING, 1300 BLOSSOM ST. The victim said someone broke the rear passenger window of his 1995 white Chevy Blazer. The following items were missing: a book of 50 CDs, a 300-watt Kenwood amplifier, a Rockford Fosgate 10-inch subwoofer and a Cobra radar detector. Estimated value: $975. Reporting officer: T. Cox. ® LARCENY OF MONEY, 1423 WHALEY ST. The victim said someone removed $20 ( cash from a Fede^a} Express envelope from the front desk at Bates House. Reporting officer: N. U. Beza. Thursday, April 11 O ILLEGAL USE OF TELEPHONE, 500 SUMTER ST. The victim said Terry Fleming has made several unwanted phone calls to her residence. A log sheet was issued and explained. The victim does not wish press charges. Reporting officer: N. DeHaai. O ASSAULT AND BATTERY, 601 SUMTER ST. The victim said Jimmy J. Turner struck him in the stomach and left ear with his fist. First Response and EMS reported to the scene. The victim does not wish to press charges. Reporting officer: M. P. Craska. O ILLEGAL USE OF TELELPHONE, 107 SOUTH MARION ST. The victim said someone named Frank has been making numerous phone calls to her. The victim has advised the subject not to call or make future contact. Reporting officer: M. P. Craska. ® DAMAGE, 817 HENDERSON ST. The complainant said he found the southwest comer wall at Gambrell Hall to have moderate damage. Reporting officer: S. Jones. ® LARCENY OF PURSE, 1106 PICKENS ST. The victim said someone took her brown leather purse from McMaster College. The following items were also taken: $30 cash, a Social Security card, a South Carolina driver’s license, five checks and charge cards. Estimated value: $50. Reporting officer: J. R. Merrill. Week CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 said. “But we want to take a more moderate approach here because of the conservative na ture of our community.” Scott-Padilla said the dis crimination non-heterosexuals often experience includes name calling, anonymous notes and prank phone calls. “More outrageous examples are when people are really emo tionally or physically harmed,” Scott-Padilla said. “We’ve been lucky here that no one has been killed or anything like that. And that’s part of this week—to pre vent things like that from hap pening.” Education is the most impor tant aspect of the week, accord ing to Scott-Padilla. He said the organizations have contacted ex perts to speak at Wednesday’s “My Best Friend’s Gay” forum. The panel members vary from professionals who work with HIV/AIDS to sociologists. He said audience members at the forum will be able to write questions on slips of paper and have them read aloud for the panel to answer. “That way, people won’t be Homophobia Awareness Week TUESDAY, APRIL 16 ♦ 7 p.m. "Spirituality and Sexuality” prayer service at the PALM center on Pickens Street, followed by a candlelight vigil on the Horseshoe. ♦ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17 ♦ 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Awareness campaign and rally. At 12:30 p.m., speakers from different organizations will tell how homophobia has affected them. ♦ 7:30 p.m. “My Best Friend’s Gay" forum. A panel will speak and answer audience questions in Gambrell room 152. singled out,” Hall said. “We want everyone to feel comfort able about discussing issues and get their questions answered.” Crews said, “We want to let the community know that we are vibrant, active members of the university community.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudeskCa-hotmailcom Showcase CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “My goal today is to tell in coming students about hotel, restaurant and tourism and to get them involved,” Smith said. “When I first came to Carolina, I did not know what was available to me, so I’m try ing to get out and make it known what is available here at USC.” Ashley Bodie and Kira Bemise will attend USC togeth er in the fall. They decided to come to Showcase Carolina af ter a student ambassador called Bemise and told her about it. At the end of the day, Bemise felt it was a day well spent. “I thought it was really help ful for me,” she said. “It’s been a good day because we met a lot of nice people and got lots of in formation.” tfaulik said she was pleased with her visit and enjoyed tak ing the tours and seeing the dorms. “I thought it was really helpful for me. It’s been a good day because we met a lot of nice people and got lots of information.” KIRA BEMISE PROSPECTIVE USC STUDENT Haulik’s parents were also pleased with their time at Showcase Carolina. Her father, Tom, said it was a great oppor tunity to talk to a variety of people from campus. He said he thinks the visit helped his daughter feel more comfortable on campus. “We got a real balance of where should you live, what should you do and what the posi tive aspects are of USC,” he said. “It was real good exposure that way. 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