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CNN Live Today
Binge Drinking on College Campuses Remains High
Aired March 25, 2002 - 14:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There is new research out on college- aged drinking, and many say there is reason to find some encouragement in the results. Our Miami bureau chief, John Zarrella now has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whether college students are of legal drinking age or not, it probably doesn't startle you to hear them say they have no problem getting their hands on alcohol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like buying orange juice or apple juice at the store. It's the same thing.
ZARRELLA: During their years at the University of Maryland, seniors Amber Vinton (ph) and Allison Hall say alcohol was and is...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very available.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it's so available.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's getting stricter, but it's very available.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even if you're not 21, like you can find someone who is that can get it for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's getting harder, but it really is available.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ZARRELLA: Researchers say availability is perhaps the single biggest factor keeping binge drinking rates among college students from declining.
HENRY WECHSLER, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: If you control the sale of high volume alcohol and cheap alcohol, this may very well help reduce the rate of binge drinking.
ZARRELLA: Henry Wechsler, director of college alcohol studies at Harvard University, has conducted binge drinking surveys since 1993. (on camera): Wechsler defines binge drinking as five or more drinks in a row by a man, four or more in a row by a woman. And this heavy drinking must take place at least once every two weeks. Wechsler calls college binge drinking a deeply entrenched behavior.
(voice-over): What surprises Wechsler is that the percentage of college students who fit his binge drinking criteria has remained an unchanged 44 percent for eight straight years despite a series of positive trends. Fewer students live in fraternities and sororities, where Wechsler's research shows, there is a much higher rate of binge drinking; more students live in substance-free dorms; increased educational materials about drinking; and fewer students coming from high school already binge drinkers.
Wendy Hamilton is president elect of MADD.
WENDY HAMILTON, PRESIDENT ELECT, MADD: The good news is that 56 percent of the kids are either abstaining from alcohol or they're drinking only occasionally.
ZARRELLA: In areas where schools and communities work together enforcing laws and pushing education, there's less binge drinking, she says.
HAMILTON: Places where they've reduced the accessibility of alcohol they've gotten rid of the happy hours at the beers -- at the bars and the nickel a bottle and the pitcher sales, they've done keg registration, they've done really good enforcement on the under age drinking laws.
ZARRELLA: Researchers say as long as a six pack of beer is cheaper than a six pack of soda and just as easy to get, parents will have to face the reality that there's a 44 percent chance their college aged son or daughter is binge drinking, at least once every two weeks.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: You will recognize his name and face from that story from John Zarrella. The study's principal investigator, Dr. Henry Wechsler from Harvard University is our guest today. Doctor, good afternoon.
WECHSLER: Good afternoon, Bill.
HEMMER: There are some signs of optimism here, some signs pointing to high school drinking being off and lower than in previous years. Why do you believe that does not follow suit at the college level, Doctor?
WECHSLER: It's either because there hasn't been enough times yet or that not enough is really being done. This is a very, very deeply entrenched and longstanding problem. And a lot has to be done to change it. And that means both educating students and working with the community around the supply of alcohol.
HEMMER: What do you finding the effect, net effect, is physically or mentally against students in this?
WECHSLER: There is a whole set of problems that binge drinkers have at much higher rates than others students, ranging from missing classes and falling behind in their work to becoming injured, getting into trouble with the police, becoming the victims of unwanted sexual advances, in the case of women.
But that's not the only kind of problem. It's not just the binge drinker who suffers. The rest of the campus suffers from secondhand effects. The quality of life in a campus where there are many binge drinkers get lowered. Through being awakened in the middle of the night to be assaulted, non-binge drinking students are hurt by the binge drinking of others.
HEMMER: I don't need to tell you this, but the American Medical Association, the AMA, is involved in the initiative as well to help here. They find that the results at Georgia Tech here in Atlanta showed a dramatic drop over the years. But at Vermont, there was no difference at all. Why the difference in between schools where one would fall dramatically, almost in half, I believe, at Georgia Tech and the other one stays still?
WECHSLER: Well, the difference -- schools differ greatly in their rates of binge drinking, from one percent at the lowest to 76 percent at the highest. And there are many factors which include the traditions that a school has had, what else there is to for students to do, what is the alcohol environment like surrounding the college. All of these things help to determine the rate of binge drinking.
HEMMER: And, Doctor, you mentioned it. You touched on it. More universities you say are responding to a number of these concerns. What are they doing in a positive way that you have found?
WECHSLER: Well, what's increased has been educational efforts aimed at students. And, of course, this is important. But by itself, this is not enough to change the rate. Colleges must work with others, with parents and with the communities in order to solve this problem.
HEMMER: Dr. Henry Wechsler, the results are out. Thanks for taking time and talking with us. Something we'll track and...
WECHSLER: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: ... we'll have for many years. You got it, Doctor. Dr. Henry Wechsler from Harvard.
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