The Urban Myth

Statistics shed positive light on college students' drinking

By REBECCA MARTIN

A group of high school friends go off to college and return in the summer, only to bond after their year apart with the help of alcohol. This is the main plot of “American Pie 2,” and alcohol being a part of college life is not uncommon on TV. With movies like “Animal House” and the “National Lampoon” series, it may seem that every college student’s main goal is to drink alcohol. What these movies often times do not show is the effects of alcohol on a person, or the realistic number of college students drinking.

Misconceptions about alcohol are everywhere—in movies, TV shows and magazines.

“The largest misconception is that all college kids drink, or binge drink,” said Michelle Villalobos, student member of the Fresno State Alcohol Advisory Board and president of the alcohol-awareness group BACCHUS. “But the stereotype on TV of binge drinking isn’t true. It portrays everyone doing it, and that’s just not true.”

In a poll regarding alcohol taken in 2003 by the Social Norms project at Fresno State, 83 percent of students disapprove of a person having five or more drinks at a sitting. In addition, 49 percent of students feel that drinking one or two drinks a day will put a person in moderate or great risk. And in terms of alcohol being the most important thing on a college campus, 96 percent of Fresno State students do not approve of drinking alcohol if it interferes with academics or other responsibilities.

The findings from the Social Norms project, taken each spring through the University Health Center, are similar to the information found by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The study found that between the years of 1993 and 1999, the amount of nondrinkers increased from 15 percent to 19 percent for college and university students.

While the number of students drinking moderately or abstaining is decreasing, more extreme forms of college drinking are taking place. The NIAAA reported that 40 percent of students binge drink, meaning the drink five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women. And 20 percent of students reported they binge drank more than three times in the last two weeks. This group of binge drinkers account for nearly 70 percent of consumed alcohol by college students.

The great majority of students at Fresno State do not agree with heavy drinking, but they do feel it is a part of their social life. With 70 percent of alcohol being consumed by 20 percent of the college population, what groups one is associated with or even what gender they are effects one’s alcohol intake.

When the Social Norms project asked if students felt the social atmosphere at Fresno State promoted the use of alcohol, 39 percent of students said it did, while 61 percent said it did not. The majority of students did not feel that their social atmosphere promoted alcohol use, yet 89 percent of male students viewed alcohol as a central part of their social life, compared to 64 percent for females.

In addition, 96 percent of students in fraternities viewed alcohol as important to their social life, with 90 percent of students in sororities agreeing.

One of the factors researched in the Social Norms project and promoted by BACCHUS is the awareness a student has of their surroundings, and the perception they have of other students’ drinking habits. The amounts of students who actually drink compared to the perception of what people drink are very different.

Fifty percent of students viewed themselves as drinking rarely, meaning one or less each day, compared to their perception of how many students are drinking the same amount, which came to 58 percent. This is relatively similar, yet the drinking perceptions both more and less than one drink or incorrect. A reported 31 percent of students never drink. When students were asked the amount of students they felt did not drink, the response was 3 percent. The difference in the perception of other students and themselves is similar in students who drink five or more drinks daily. Just 5 percent of students drink five or more, compared to the perception that 39 percent of other students drink the same amount.

The perception students have regarding alcohol is an important part of alcohol awareness, but it is not the only part. Being aware of the effects of alcohol on a student and those around them is important as well.

“We try to educate people that it’s not about not drinking,” Villalobos said. “It’s about knowing your limits, and knowing how it can effect your judgment. If people know this, they hopefully will be able to make responsible choices.”

For those that choose to drink alcohol, the possible consequences are severe. According to the NIAAA Task Force on College Drinking, alcohol contributes to 1,400 deaths of college students ages 18-24. In addition, alcohol contributes to 500,000 injuries and 70,000 sexual assaults or date rapes each year.

Fresno State students are not immune to the negative impact of alcohol. Of the students who drink alcohol, 22 percent did something under the influence that they later regretted. Seven percent injured themselves while intoxicated, while 2 percent injured another person. Thirteen percent of those surveyed had unprotected sex under the influence of alcohol.

The Social Norms Project began collecting data in 2001 in order to trace information about Fresno State students regarding alcohol. Since then, polls have taken place every spring, and information regarding alcohol has been put on posters across campus. Before the Social Norms Project began, the school participated in other forms of data collecting.

“We also participated in Henry Wechsler’s four Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Surveys though the 1990’s,” said Sam Gitchel, Social Norms project director. “I hope we can continue to gather this data to monitor where we are, and how we are changing.”

The Health Center at Fresno State has both medical and counseling staffs trained in alcohol awareness and alcohol related problems, according to Gitchel.