Binge drinking yields deadly consequences

By
PETER ZEMANSKY
Published: November 11, 2009 Last Modified: November 11, 2009 6:37 PMPosted in: FeaturesTags:
The Drake security reports are published each week, and for many readers, they are a favorite section of The Times-Delphic. Thirty-four percent of the TD–published security re­ports this semester involved the consumption of alcohol.
Binge drinking is a pervasive problem on col­lege campuses nationwide. Drake is no excep­tion to this phenomenon. Although 34 percent may not seem like an alarming proportion of security citations, it is unclear the amount of re­ports (theft, vandalism, etc.) that may have been committed under the influence of alcohol.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pat­tern of alcohol consumption in which a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is 0.08 percent or higher. It also states that this pat­tern of drinking generally involves five or more drinks in one sitting for men and four or more for women.
This behavior is not limited to a select few students at each university. About 44 percent of students attending four-year colleges drink alco­hol at the binge level or beyond, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Binge drinking causes brain damage and organ failure, said David Kaptain, manager of Powell Chemical Dependency Treatment Cen­ter. Alcohol begins affecting the system by slow­ing coordination and speech. After those effects, it begins to inhibit other important functions of the body.
“The brain forgets to tell you how to breathe or your heart to beat,” Kaptain said. “It basi­cally starts putting more and more automatic functions to sleep.”
Kaptain said that binge drinking damages the brain – in part by damaging the organ’s white matter that is responsible for relaying in­formation between brain cells.
This can have severe repercussions for stu­dents’ learning capabilities.
“Anybody who is drinking a lot, even once or twice a week, it could be affecting school – brain development is still occurring up to age 21,” Kaptain said.
Recent research has shown that incoming college students are more likely to binge drink for a number of psychological and social rea­sons.
“College freshmen are particularly vulner­able to binge drinking,” said a 2008 article from the Journal of American College Health.
There are no clear-cut solutions to this prob­lem.
“Frankly, if I had the formula that would solve the binge drinking on the nation’s campus­es, I’d patent it and retire,” said Hans Hanson, chief of Drake Security.
Binge drinking has been an issue on the fore­front for some Drake students as they have ad­justed to college life.
“I’ve had friends drink and get really sick from it, so it’s affected me that way,” first-year student Megan Stein said. “People just have to be really careful how much they drink because it can affect you more than you think.”
However, Drake’s culture may not be as al­cohol-centric as other universities.
“In visiting with my colleagues from other universities, I feel Drake has a very small binge-drinking problem as compared to some other schools, particularly the big public institutions,” Hanson said.
For some students, their classmates’ binge drinking has shown them what not to do.
“I don’t think (binge drinking) has really af­fected my life personally, but I have seen it affect the lives of others, and it has made me more cautious about drinking habits,” first-year stu­dent Drew Albinson said.
Drake administration has increasingly ad­dressed the topic of drinking. At the Nov. 5 Stu­dent Senate meeting, Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari announced that his office formed a focus group examining alcohol culture on Drake’s campus.
“The dean of students has played an active role in prevention, from fining students to sup­porting organizations on campus interested in reducing alcohol consumption,” Hanson said.
Many people believe that education about the effects of alcohol is crucial to affecting stu­dents’ decisions.
“From the experiences I’ve had, I wouldn’t say it’s an overwhelming problem, but I have seen instances that are too frequent on our campus,” sophomore resident assistant Joshua Poindexter said. “We can do a better job of educating first-year students immediately, and structuring the culture of the residence halls so that they are aware of the consequences of binge drinking.”
photo illustration: Sarah Andrews

photo illustration: Sarah Andrews

The Drake security reports are published each week, and for many readers, they are a favorite section of The Times-Delphic. Thirty-four percent of the TD–published security re­ports this semester involved the consumption of alcohol.

Binge drinking is a pervasive problem on col­lege campuses nationwide. Drake is no excep­tion to this phenomenon. Although 34 percent may not seem like an alarming proportion of security citations, it is unclear the amount of re­ports (theft, vandalism, etc.) that may have been committed under the influence of alcohol.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pat­tern of alcohol consumption in which a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is 0.08 percent or higher. It also states that this pat­tern of drinking generally involves five or more drinks in one sitting for men and four or more for women.

This behavior is not limited to a select few students at each university. About 44 percent of students attending four-year colleges drink alco­hol at the binge level or beyond, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Binge drinking causes brain damage and organ failure, said David Kaptain, manager of Powell Chemical Dependency Treatment Cen­ter. Alcohol begins affecting the system by slow­ing coordination and speech. After those effects, it begins to inhibit other important functions of the body.

“The brain forgets to tell you how to breathe or your heart to beat,” Kaptain said. “It basi­cally starts putting more and more automatic functions to sleep.”

Kaptain said that binge drinking damages the brain – in part by damaging the organ’s white matter that is responsible for relaying in­formation between brain cells.

This can have severe repercussions for stu­dents’ learning capabilities.

“Anybody who is drinking a lot, even once or twice a week, it could be affecting school – brain development is still occurring up to age 21,” Kaptain said.

Recent research has shown that incoming college students are more likely to binge drink for a number of psychological and social rea­sons.

“College freshmen are particularly vulner­able to binge drinking,” said a 2008 article from the Journal of American College Health.

There are no clear-cut solutions to this prob­lem.

“Frankly, if I had the formula that would solve the binge drinking on the nation’s campus­es, I’d patent it and retire,” said Hans Hanson, chief of Drake Security.

Binge drinking has been an issue on the fore­front for some Drake students as they have ad­justed to college life.

“I’ve had friends drink and get really sick from it, so it’s affected me that way,” first-year student Megan Stein said. “People just have to be really careful how much they drink because it can affect you more than you think.”

However, Drake’s culture may not be as al­cohol-centric as other universities.

“In visiting with my colleagues from other universities, I feel Drake has a very small binge-drinking problem as compared to some other schools, particularly the big public institutions,” Hanson said.

For some students, their classmates’ binge drinking has shown them what not to do.

“I don’t think (binge drinking) has really af­fected my life personally, but I have seen it affect the lives of others, and it has made me more cautious about drinking habits,” first-year stu­dent Drew Albinson said.

Drake administration has increasingly ad­dressed the topic of drinking. At the Nov. 5 Stu­dent Senate meeting, Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari announced that his office formed a focus group examining alcohol culture on Drake’s campus.

“The dean of students has played an active role in prevention, from fining students to sup­porting organizations on campus interested in reducing alcohol consumption,” Hanson said.

Many people believe that education about the effects of alcohol is crucial to affecting stu­dents’ decisions.

“From the experiences I’ve had, I wouldn’t say it’s an overwhelming problem, but I have seen instances that are too frequent on our campus,” sophomore resident assistant Joshua Poindexter said. “We can do a better job of educating first-year students immediately, and structuring the culture of the residence halls so that they are aware of the consequences of binge drinking.”

When to call 911: Symptoms of alcohol poisoning

1. Person is unconscious or semi-conscious and cannot be awakened even when shaken; cannot stay awake for more than three minutes

2. Cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin

3. Check to see if breathing is slow, less than eight times per minute or irregular, with 10 or more seconds between breaths

4. Weak pulse or extremely rapid pulse or seizing

5.Vomiting while “sleeping” or passed out, and not waking up after vomiting

–Information provided from David Kaptain of Powell Chemical Dependency Treatment Center and the Drake Emergency Contact Card