A National Concern

The issue of underage and binge drinking is a topic of concern for colleges nationwide. Perhaps the most widely publicized research on this topic comes from the Harvard School of Public Health. Henry Wechsler and colleagues have conducted three major studies focusing on the prevalence and consequences of binge drinking (defined as five or more drinks in one sitting one or more during a two-week period for men, and four or more drinks in one sitting one or more times during the same period for women). The studies revealed that the nationwide prevalence of binge drinking and the problems associated with it have not changed overall; two in five students were binge drinkers in 1993, 1997 and 1999. While the frequency of abstention did rise from 15.6% to 19.2% from 1993 to 1999, the percentage of students who met the criteria for frequent binge drinking increased from 19.5% to 23% from 1993 to 1999.

Students who binged reported experiencing problems ranging from hangovers, class absences, and failure to complete class assignments to physical injuries, unplanned or unprotected sexual activity, trouble with the police and emergency treatment of alcohol overdose. The more students binged, the more likely they were to experience these problems. The Harvard researchers also found that it is no longer possible to view binge drinking as solely the bingers’ problem— other students are paying a steep price too. “Secondhand” binge effects include things like being insulted or assaulted, having one’s studying or sleep interrupted, having to “baby-sit” drunken friends, or becoming a victim of “date rape.”

A UCSB Concern

While approximately 20% of UCSB students do not drink at all, our students are not immune to alcohol abuse and related problems. Surveys conducted over the last ten years reveal that rates of binge drinking among UCSB students are comparable to the national average. We have long recognized that alcohol abuse can be a major source of problems (physically, socially and academically) for our students. To that end, in 1980, the campus established an Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Program, housed in Student Health—the first such program in the UC system (and one of the first in the country). Guided by a task force of students, staff, faculty, and community members, AOD prevention efforts have expanded and changed over the years to include new strategies that show promise on this and other campuses. As recommended by the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, UCSB’s current efforts fall into six categories: education, early intervention, environmental change, enforcement, evaluation and everybody’s involvement. Aided by permanent and extramural (grant) funding, our strategic plan involves a large number of campus departments, student groups and the community of Isla Vista.