Ae Response To Alcoholism

This week's selections of articles from the AE reader were both interesting and thought provoking. The first article "Drinking to get Drunk," details the growing concern of binge drinking on college campuses across the country. I thought it was very interesting that 23% of students are "frequent binge drinkers" whereby frequent binge drinking is operationally defined as those who consumed at least five drinks in a row at one point during any two week period. This is startling number when thinking of my own drinking habits or even the social norms of drinking on this campus. I would be confident in claiming that at Providence College, the percentage of frequent binge drinkers is likely higher than the national percentage. With the social culture of this campus being focused on gatherings that include alcohol, it is hard to remove oneself from a drinking climate. As a student leader on this campus, we are required to program so many alcohol free activities to promote a "dry" campus. These efforts go unnoticed and very often are unattended by students because of the competition of the off campus bar scene. Perhaps if the surrounding community (ie: local bar establishments/package stores, law enforcement officials, attorney generals office) becomes more stringent in enforcing underage drinking regulations, it will become more difficult for underage students on this campus to drink. Or on the flipside, the result could be just as devastating with a shift in drinking off campus to on campus, causing more on campus disciplinary actions. This could be worth it however if it means that students will be drinking in their dorms and in a fairly safe environment unlike our neighboring community. Further examination on this campus is necessary and continues through student congress and Fr. McPhail's office. Personally, I don't think the drinking climate will change until the allure of drinking and being drunk is discouraged and students develop a mature sense of what is "cool."

The second article "The Drug that Pretends it Isn't" is also an article related to alcohol and the nasty consequences of drinking on our society. The article opens with the giggle of Jamaica, the trendy spring break hot spot that many college students flock to. A policy research group called Drug Strategies produced a report that calls alcohol "America's most pervasive drug problem," which is sadly true. What shocked me was the claim that alcohol-related deaths outnumber deaths related to drugs four to one; alcohol is a factor in more than half of all domestic-violence and sexual assault cases. More interesting to me was the actual cost alcohol abuse has on the economy: $167 billion a year---that's ridiculous. I guess this article also opened my eyes up to the political influence of alcohol on party contributions. With brewing and alcohol companies