quote: NORMAN, Oklahoma (AP) -- The body of a 19-year-old student was found inside a fraternity house, and the university's president said drinking may have played a role in his death.
posted
That would never have happened to the guys I went to college with. They weren't exactly the fraternity crowd. We were all in the dorms. About all they could afford was a case of Keystone Light, which would give them enough of a buzz that they would use the empty cardboard boxes as hats and play Keystone Man. And wrap their heads in clear Scotch tape. And drag cement ashtrays and No Parking signs (poles included) into our room in the middle of the night. Goofy, yes, but hardly the same level of danger.
Needless to say, I got almost no studying done that quarter.
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quote: About all they could afford was a case of Keystone Light,
I don't drink, but isn't it bad that when I see someone WALKING home with a case of Keystone that I automatically start to make assumptions about them?
I automatically start looking around for the trailer park.
It hits home to me because I'm working on a paper about effective brief intervention techniques for physicians, and part of that is documenting how widespread the connection between teenage drinking in this culture and injury (including fatalities) really is. Very extensive, from motor vehicle crashes to other risky behaviors, to sports injuries and falls, drownings, farm accidents ...
Most public universities now have informational sessions of some sort for freshmen, but earlier intervention may help, too.
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posted
Is it chronic stupidity, or what? Can anybody explain exactly why these people drink themselves to death. I like the chronic stupidity theory, but I could be wrong.
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posted
A lot of it is fear of retribution. The idea that "if we call for help, he gets expelled whether or not he'd be fine without it".
Campuses without anonymous on-call medical aid (at least for problems relating to alcohol) are contributing greatly to harm caused by drinking.
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posted
Anonymous medical care migh also help with unreported rapes. I know that might seem contradictory. I dunno.
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posted
Unfortunately, the structure of AA is not very amenable to evalutions of its outcomes. That is, it's difficult (and in my view irresponsible) to promote as a matter of public policy an intervention which cannot be evaluated for general effectiveness in the population.
Of course, AA is not set up for this, and it is not their intent. But I, too, would like to see treatment more widely advertised, as we do advertise resources for problematic gambling in casinos.
The awareness of problem drinking has been marked raised on college campuses in the last few years -- it is definitely much different than when I was a freshman back in the eighties. My cynical side attributes this to liability reasons, as it is now matter of course for universities to be sued (whether justifiably or no is another matter, of course).
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posted
Sara is correct that AA is not set up for that type of situation.
AA is a voluntary program for those who have trouble with alcohol and want help. (okay, so some courts make it NOT voluntary, but that isn't AA's intent)
Not every person that binge drinks once in awhile is an alcoholic. Not every person who has drunk themselves to death is an alcoholic. They made a bad judgement at that time, but that doesn't mean they had a chronic problem with resisting alcohol.
posted
This is so very sad. How can someone drink themself into that state without their friends intervening ( assuming in this case it happened in company)?
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posted
I believe it is a part of most public university freshman introductions nowadays.* The most effective means found so far is to give out a demo CD with real-life-styled interactions (sort of a "Choose Your Own Adventure" for the grown-up crowd), but some universities work through discussion groups or lectures. At least it's a start.
*e.g., alcohol poisoning, date rape risks, why not to drink on an empty stomach (and what to eat), how to pace oneself, how much on average will put you over the legal limit to drive, etc.
[ October 01, 2004, 05:24 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
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posted
What might help is if the underage drinking on campus was prosecuted by local police agencies rather than campus security.
I've seen time and time again underage drinkers getting caught by their various dorm bosses or campus rent-a-cops and then be ticketed and have to go before whatever campus court they have. They pay a fine, get academic probation and not a spot goes on their record. Heck, most times the parents aren't even called.
And this is often how it is handled off campus at frat houses as well.
If the underage drinkers on campus had to face what those who aren't students had to face, it might put some brakes on this. Your average 19 year old would: a: get busted by the cops, b: spend some time in the drunk tank until someone came to pick them up, c: have to go to court in front of a real judge, d: get a swift misdemeanor, a fine and probably some community service.
And that's not to mention that whoever sold them the alcohol or provided it, could also be facing some serious charges.
But hey, with campus cops and the molly-coddling that is done at most universities about this, there's no real punishment. If these deaths had happened at someone's house or a bar, there would be much more than the suspension of someone's Greek charter at stake here.
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posted
I've never understood why frat parties aren't scrutinized for underage drinkers like bars are. Their sole purpose, at least on my campus, is to provide a chance for underage drinkers to get wasted. The bars are tight around here and you usually can't even get in to hear the bands if you're under 21, but on any given night there are 3 or 4 frat parties with all kinds of free alcohol for everyone.
I think fraternities are pretty irresponible institutions to start with, but I have no idea how to prevent these problems.
No matter what programs are in place, no matter what kind of rules are set up, kids coming to college expecting to drink a lot. That's just a cultural expectation. And I have no idea how to go about changing cultural expectations whose "the drunker you get, the more fun you have" message always seems to shout louder than anything instututed against it.
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