2008 Woodie Awards
Binge Drinking
Victoria Vlisides
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Lifestyle
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This semester, protective custody incidents have already reached as many as the last year's total, with four occurrences from Sept. 5 to Sept. 26, making it imperative students remain aware of their drinking habits and when they've gone from healthy to out-of-control.
"We take them into protective custody because they are too intoxicated to protect themselves," Operations Program Associate Deanne Thornsen said.
Sophomore Jonta Brown, thought binge drinking was the norm for college life in Wisconsin.
"Everybody knows the UW-systems are well-known for drinking," Brown said.
According to the Web site www.intheknowzone.com, 60 percent of college women who have acquired sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, were under the influence of alcohol at the time they had intercourse. Over 30,000 students each year need emergency health care for alcohol overdose.
College students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol per year. This is more than is spent on books, soda, coffee, juice and milk combined, according to the Web site.
University Police Chief Matt Kiederlen said the drinking habits in Wisconsin are much more drastic than where he previously was an officer in Illinois.
"There's a social ideal around alcohol that makes it a focus of an event," Kiederlen said.
Kiederlen and senior Megan Repp both thought of binge drinking as drinking in access for the purpose to get drunk.
"When people drink for a loss of control, that's where heavy regulation comes into play," Kiederlen said.
Repp, on a typical night of drinking, has anywhere from "three to I can't remember drinks."
Sophomore Brittany Hereford thought a student would have about three to four drinks on an average Thursday night.
Binge drinking is formally defined as, "a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 grams percent or above," according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Web site, www.cdc.gov. "This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when women consume 4 or more drinks, in about 2 hours."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Concerned
posted 10/01/08 @ 8:46 PM CST
I seriously cannot believe that the Royal Purple would put up a picture of UNDERAGE students drinking.
Yes we all know that it happens but just by being there and taking that photo is pretty much a violation of rules that we have set for most workers on campus. (Continued…)
Student AA member
posted 10/02/08 @ 4:42 PM CST
As a student returning to school following a 3-year battle with alcoholism, there is an obvious realization that drinking and college go hand in hand. (Continued…)
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