Drinking isn’t only a hobby on many college campuses, it’s a culture.
At the same time the pressure is increasing on young people to get a degree, the college student and the local liquor store are developing what some experts consider an unsettling reliance on one another.
Nearly half of all substance abuse treatment admissions involving college students (ages 18-24) in 2009 were for alcohol disorders, according to a recent study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Moreover, the student admission rate was much higher than nonstudents in the same age group (46.6 percent to 30.6), the report found.
“What I can tell you is that it says that this is a real serious problem for kids who are in college, and shows what these young people in college are being exposed to,” said Dr. Peter Delany, the director of SAMHSA’s Center for Behavior Health Statistics and Quality.
In the District, substance abuse issues hit even closer to home. A study released last year by the organization found that abuse among college-age youth in D.C. was higher than anywhere else in the country.
But the statistics didn’t surprise Georgetown University student Gregory Laverriere, who said that alcohol is “definitely the most easily accessible substance on college campuses.” When the weekend rolls around, upperclassmen head to the bars, while the underage crew migrate toward house parties, he said.
Georgetown’s administration takes student drinking seriously, however, Laverriere said, as do other area universities. Many have their own counseling services, psychiatric treatment centers and hotlines for students who think they could be growing too dependent on their night-time pursuit.
Along with GU, student programming boards and resident hall associations at American University and George Washington University organize movie nights and other non-alcoholic events on the weekends as alternative options to going out. At the University of Maryland, all freshman are required to complete an online course on the effects of alcohol.
“I think the university accepts that it is not possible to prevent every underage college student from drinking,” Laverriere said.
But the gap SAMHSA’s study found between students and nonstudents is shifting the discourse from treatment to prevention. When the environment is often the enabler, how else can administrations prevent excessive intake in the first place?
“Education,” said Babette Wise, director of Georgetown University Medical Center‘s Alcohol and Drug Abuse. “And educating the parents, because a lot of them feel the degree is the most important thing. Even if their child is having an alcohol problem they think ‘I just have to get my student through college’.”
