Report addresses drinking policies

UW–Madison’s efforts to combat student high-risk drinking were featured last week before the Board of Regents.

The Regents’ Education Committee received a report from the UW System Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) Committee detailing the challenges facing campuses attempting to curb high-risk, or binge, drinking.

“This is a topic of great importance to students across the System, but also the nation,” said UW-Stevens Point Chancellor Linda Bunnell, who chaired the committee. “It should be a concern not only to us, but also to parents of students who are paying the bills for their education.”

Bunnell and Larry Rubin, UW System assistant vice president, presented the findings of a systemwide survey showing that 59 percent of UW students had reported binging (defined as consuming five or more drinks in a sitting) within two weeks of the survey period in spring 2005.

National studies have estimated that, overall, 44 percent of college students report similar behaviors.

Students in the survey reported varying degrees of direct consequences, such as missing a class, having contact with police or campus authorities or engaging in unprotected sex.

In addition, students also reported that they had experienced indirect consequences of drinking, including having their studies interrupted, experiencing damage to personal property or feeling that their safety had been threatened. Twenty percent of student respondents said they had abstained from drinking alcohol in the past month.

Among the promising techniques highlighted during the discussion is the “environmental policy” approach employed by UW–Madison’s PACE Project.

Environmental approaches use policy interventions to create an alcohol environment that supports healthier behavior. Some examples of interventions include media advocacy and public policy or practice changes that promote long-term sustainable change.

After nearly 10 years of PACE, UW–Madison still faces significant challenges with the issue and reports a binge rate of 66 percent, in addition to continuing problems with large-scale, alcohol-fueled celebrations.

Crowley said that state culture of alcohol use and abuse plays an important role in shaping the problem in Madison. Additional tools, such as a statewide coalition to address the issue and legislative measures around keg registration and drink specials would be useful in the future, she added.