Alcohol abuse rises on college campuses

Large increases in alcohol usage at Tufts appear to be in line with nationwide trends, according to a recent study by the The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

The study found that approximately 86 percent of college students consume alcohol, which is not far off from the 81 percent from Tufts who responded that they drink. These statistics are roughly similar to other benchmark schools like Dartmouth and Williams College.

"Alcohol use is way up this year, at Tufts and virtually all colleges in the northeast" said Elizabeth Moore, a counselor at the Tufts Alcohol and Health Education Center.

In addition, the number of TEMS reports has increased at Tufts. "By estimate so far, the number of reports to TEMS has already doubled, perhaps even tripled, the total number of reports last year," Moore said.

Up to this point there have already been 35 calls whereas last year there were only 45 for the whole year.

She said many factors could have lead to the increases, including a changed alcohol policy, people feeling freer to call, and higher stress levels.

Another possibility for the higher numbers may be due to more freshmen drinking. "So far it seems majority of increase in drinking can be attributed to increase in freshman drinking," said Margot Abels, who directs the Alcohol and Health Education Center.

Numbers for freshman violations have increased enormously, with 115 already for this year versus only 148 for all of last year.

"I have spoken to many other colleges and what we all seem to be observing in particular is an increase in freshman alcohol use," said Laini Sporbert, director of the Substance Abuse Counseling Center at Williams College. "We are currently looking into this, though as of now we are unable to pinpoint the exact cause of this trend."

"I feel like people here, including many I'm personally associated with, drink just because it's what you're 'supposed' to do in college, and they just want to fit in," Tufts freshman Hannah Field said.

"Besides," she added, "there aren't many other better things available to do on campus besides drink."

According to a 2000 Tufts Alcohol Study, approximately 33.8 percent of Tufts students felt pressure from others to drink, and about 44 percent report drinking more since arriving on campus.

A survey of Columbia University students reports similar motivations for drinking. The (often overwhelming) majority of students said that they used alcohol because it "makes them feel happy" or "to have fun." Other commonly cited reasons were "to make it easier to meet new people" or "as a reward for hard work."

NESCAC schools adopted an agreement in December 2000 to be "united in efforts to provide safe environments in which students may mature intellectually and socially" and to "take a strong stand against substance abuse, including alcohol."