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American Morning

Binge Drinking in College Still High

Aired March 25, 2002 - 08:13   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The number of college students who binge drink is staggering and the problem is just as common on campus as it was nearly a decade ago. That according to a just released study by the Harvard School Public Health. More students, though, are now living in a substance-free college environment and few are drinking heavily before they get to college.

So is the glass half full or half empty?

Here's John Zarrella's perspective.

(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 WESCHLER, 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 Weschler, director of college alcohol studies at Harvard University, has conducted binge drinking surveys since 1993.

(on camera): Weschler 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. Weschler calls college binge drinking a deeply entrenched behavior.

(voice-over): What surprises Weschler 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 Weschler'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)

ZAHN: And the question we're going to pose at this hour, why are more college women binge drinking? That new Harvard study reported in this week's "Time" magazine also found some surprising results when it came to women on campus, saying women are now regularly getting drunk.

At Syracuse University, twice as many women than men were treated last year for alcohol poisoning. At Stanford, counselors report an increase in women who had regretted sex while drunk. And at Georgetown University, according to "Time" magazine, there has been a 35 percent rise in women sanctioned for alcohol violations in the past three years. Joining us now to talk more about college women on a binge, Lisa Diebold, a senior at Syracuse University, and "Time" magazine writer Jodie Morse. Welcome to both of you.

LISA DIEBOLD, STUDENT, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Hi.

JODIE MORSE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you.

ZAHN: Lisa, I'm going to start with you this morning because in "Time" magazine you are quoted as saying, "To be able to drink like a guy is kind of a badge of honor. For me, it's a feminism thing." Where does the feminism come in?

DIEBOLD: Well, it just seems that in today's day and age, I mean we're hanging a lot as far as women are going and we want to have as many equal roles as men. We want to have the same job opportunities, the same salary opportunities, the same opportunities in all walks of life. And I think if you want to act and be able to get the same opportunities as a man, sometimes you have to act as a man and sometimes that can go over into drinking, especially in a college setting.

ZAHN: How many women do you know regularly get trashed?

DIEBOLD: Well, a good number.

ZAHN: And how concerned are you with the statistics that twice as many women at Syracuse University as men have been treated for alcohol poisoning?

DIEBOLD: Well, absolutely it's concerning. But we also have to consider that even though we are looking for equal opportunities, we do have different bodies and women drinking are more likely to be treated for drinking, I think.

ZAHN: And of any of the women who have been sent to the hospital, do they have any regrets about binge drinking and have they learned a lesson?

DIEBOLD: I honestly...

ZAHN: Or do they continue to do it?

DIEBOLD: I honestly -- I honestly don't know anyone who has actually been sent to the hospital for binge drinking personally, but I'm sure that as soon as you get your stomach pumped, it would not be some sort of experience you'd like to repeat.

ZAHN: All right, Jodie, put this in perspective for us this morning. I think Lisa described why women do this. They feel they have the freedom to do it and as men look at this as a badge of honor, women may view it similarly. What did you find?

MORSE: Well, a surprising number of students said essentially the same thing that Lisa did to us that, you know, it's an equal opportunity world now and women want a seat at the bar, too. There's some question, you know, women are certainly these days much freer to be themselves or are we seeing, you know, a sort of generation of, you know, savvy girl power converts thinking that they need to prove themselves?

And I think it's a question that came up in our interviews and, you know, I think it's a discussion that's only just beginning.

ZAHN: So, Jodie, what do you think is the most obvious way for college campuses across the country -- as I understand it, this is also not only a problem in urban settings, but rural ones as well -- what are they, what should they be doing about this?

MORSE: Well, I think one thing, in the last decade, I mean, we've all heard and written stories about, you know, generally about men who have, you know, drunk themselves to death and gone on these binges and I think a lot of colleges have targeted their campaigns strictly to men. You know, they've brought in male police officers in uniform and I think one of the things that colleges are kind of rethinking are the way they address these issues among women.

Syracuse has instituted some interesting programs, sort of directly targeting sororities and, you know, a more up close and personal approach that seems to be, you know, sinking in much better with women than sort of the laying down the law, if you will.

ZAHN: Lisa and Jodie, I want to quickly bring into the discussion William Bennett. Of course, you all know him as the former secretary of education, with some feedback on this study.

Good morning, Bill.

WILLIAM BENNETT, EMPOWER AMERICA, CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

Well, whatever it's a badge of, it's not a badge of honor, that's for sure. In an age where we have honor among firefighters, cops and soldiers, this is not a badge of honor. I did my share of drinking in college. This is not an achievement and I think the young women should be advised that if this is the way feminism is going, you may want to reconsider it. Self-destruction, chronic self-destruction is now a badge of feminism. This is not rational and colleges are not doing a very good job of educating young people.

ZAHN: Lisa, what is your thought on that? You, no doubt, have heard campus officials try to take the message to students that this is a bad thing to do. Is this message of self-destruction getting through at all?

DIEBOLD: Well, obviously. I'm sure that everyone who drinks knows that this is a bad thing to do. But we also realize that we're at a point in time in our life where this is where we're going to have the least amount of responsibility when it comes to the real world, basically, and if there's any time to act out and be "bad," now would be the time to do it.

ZAHN: But Lisa, do you really view it as an achievement of sorts that you really can go and get drunk with the guys? DIEBOLD: I view it as an achievement, but it's also a very low achievement on my list. I mean making the dean's list every semester is much higher on my list than being a binge drinker, obviously.

ZAHN: Well, we hope you continue to make the dean's list. I agree with you. Lisa Diebold, thank you for joining us.

DIEBOLD: Thank you.

ZAHN: Jodie Morris, you, as well.

MORSE: Thank you.

ZAHN: And, Bill, we're going to join you again in about 10 minutes. BENNETT: Right.

ZAHN: You're going to talk about some criticism you've had of the Bush administration when it comes to Israeli-Palestinian policy. BENNETT: Right.

ZAHN: So you stand by and we'll come back to you, as well. BENNETT: Thanks for letting me join.

ZAHN: All right, thank you, all three of you.

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