A survey administered by the UW System's Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Committee produced statistics that show binge drinking among UW system schools, although down from previous years, is still above national averages. Sadly, the results emphasized that Wisconsin's college students are still heads above the rest of the country in alcohol consumption.
The survey, which was the first conducted by the committee since 2005, was sent to 35,996 UW System students, but only 15,077 replied. The 42 percent response rate was up from 24 percent response rate of the 2005 survey, and the margin of error was plus or minus 1 percent.
Fifty-four percent of the respondents said they had participated in binge drinking at least once in the two weeks prior to taking the survey. The figure is down 5 percent from 2005.
According to the report, however, 54 percent is still 10 points above the national average, and it seems the focus of the study is specifically on binge drinkers.
Yes, the topic is alarming, but binge drinking is not a problem specific to Wisconsin. Look at the 44 percent of students elsewhere in the country, and you'll see that it is not.
In a Dec. 3 story in the Badger Herald, UW System spokesperson David Giroux alluded to the overall decrease in binge drinking at UW universities as "a step in the right direction."
However, according to its own study, the UW system isn't the reason for the step toward reducing binge drinking.
According to results of the study, 59 percent of students said they were aware of policies and regulations concerning alcohol at their university. The percentage of students aware of school drinking policies fell 6 percent from 2005.
The results reflect that students are drinking less, but the UW System can't take credit for the improvement.
Students are drinking less but, by their own admission as reported by the study, not as a result of awareness by their individual university's alcohol awareness programs. Are students simply getting their fill of excessive drinking?
The UW System emphasizes the fact that its schools are the No. 1 binge drinkers in the nation. In the same breath that it criticizes our state's schools for drinking, it makes no offer for solution nor any efforts to curb the problem.
Why hasn't anything been done?
Students at universities in Wisconsin drink a lot: That is no new fact. Our state heritage may indicate some contributing factors.
First off, Wisconsin is a farming state, famous for its grain production and subsequently, its large number of breweries. The Miller Brewing Company, one of the largest in the United States, is located in Wisconsin. Our leading baseball team is the Brewers. Beer, and alcohol in general, is everywhere.
Secondly, UW-Madison has been in contention for "party school of the year" by every publication across the country for many years. Halloween on State Street, the annual Mifflin Street block party and every Saturday Badger football game are all well-known drinking holidays for Wisconsinites.
Finally, look at the UW system study of 2005: 59 percent of the students who partook in the survey admitted to binge drinking. Fifty-nine percent. They had two years to raise awareness of programs on universities, and they didn't.
The fact is students are going to drink, and it has been so since people were going to college before many of the students currently enrolled here were even born.
All that these studies really do is attract negative publicity for a chain of universities that display success around every corner.
Just last week UW-Madison announced what could be the largest breakthrough in stem cell research, if not science in general, and a week later the big story is students still like to get drunk.
Whitewater is the home to one of the most successful collegiate athletic programs in recent years. Our Management Computer Systems program is the number one program in the country. Students at UW-Whitewater recently conducted a ground-breaking study on the topic of brain drain.
There are great things happening at every UW school across the state, and they do it amidst negative releases like the binge drinking figures and, recently, drastic budget cuts.
Maybe, given recent ineffectiveness, unneeded alcohol prevention programs should take a cut. Results from the UW System's own surveys make the case.
So what good comes from studies and surveys like the this? None. The best answer is the study results give college students in Wisconsin bragging rights to their out-of-state friends: "we can out-drink you."
Outside of that, the survey does little to no good, because every two years it's the same story.
Headlines in the Badger Herald regarding the same survey in 2003 read "UW System students drink more than national average."
In 2005, a release by the UW system bore the headline "Wisconsin faces challenges in reducing student alcohol abuse, study finds."
The UW System considers binge drinking to be a looming problem, but they don't seem to be doing much about it. If the survey is meant to raise awareness about the dangers of binge drinking, it should be reevaluated.
The 35,996 students the UW System sent the survey to is a small number compared to the total number of students in the state, and the 15,077 who responded shows that few still don't take this situation seriously. Surveys like the one recently released do nothing except unnecessarily explain that Wisconsin students drink a lot. The levels of binge drinking are not where the UW System would like, and the levels still won't be in 2009 unless the state decides to stop turning a blind eye to what they identify as a problem.
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