Stop the abuse

Opinion: March 10, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Judith Gwinn Adrian

McClatchy-Tribune

We’ve got to do more to save our young people from alcohol abuse. It’s a killer.

More than 1,800 college students die each year from alcohol, and 500,000 students are injured by it, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

By day, these students have curious, textured, challenging minds. By night, too many are getting black-out drunk, mixing shots with potent drugs, and randomly hooking up.

The students say, “That’s what we aim for: black-out drunk.” And they often mix alcohol with prescription drugs.

What can be done? Campus administrators know there is no single solution to the puzzle. But there are a lot of different pieces.

Ask students what they seek to gain from drinking. If it’s to be more socially at ease, suggest that the same goal can be achieved with fewer drinks. Emphasize side benefits, like saving money by drinking less and avoiding a hangover or a reckless sexual encounter.

Ask students if they are playing into alcohol industry goals. Ask them if they really want to be so heavily subsidizing an industry that kills 85,000 Americans a year.

Honestly talk about what a safe blood alcohol content level means, depending on a person’s size and weight. Discuss the research showing that women may be more vulnerable to alcohol abuse, achieving higher blood alcohol content levels on comparable amounts of alcohol. Differentiate between abuse and drinking. Point them to the website echeckuptogo.com, where they can evaluate themselves.

Guide student leaders, athletes, and resident advisers to shift the culture and cap the excesses. Coaches, professors and deans all have a role to play here.

Give out informational resources with each underage ticket, including a list of alcohol-free community activities. Make enforcement consistent. Separate residence-counseling from enforcement so students can trust their counselors.

Let us embrace those young curious, textured, and challenging minds.

Judith Gwinn Adrian is co-director of the Dane County Coalition to Reduce Alcohol Abuse, based in Madison, Wis. She wrote this for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues.