ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS 'NEARLY OUT OF
CONTROL'

Drinking, Drugs On-Campus on the Rise, With 49 Percent Abusing One Or
Both Monthly

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- College students have increased their drinking
and drugging in the last decade despite crackdowns on underage,
on-campus drinking, a new study said yesterday.

"There's a consistent rise in prescription-drug and alcohol abuse on
college campuses," said Luke Nasta, director of Camelot Counseling
Centers. He described the situation as "nearly out of control, kind
of a constant, partying subculture."

Some 49 percent of all college students either binge-drink, abuse
prescription or illegal drugs or do some of both every month,
according to the study by the National Center of Addiction and
Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), which was released yesterday.

In 2005, almost one in four college students met the medical criteria
for substance abuse or dependence -- almost three times the rate of
the general population, the report said.

And between 1993 and 2001, the proportion of students who binge-drink
regularly rose 16 percent, and the rate of students who got drunk at
least three times a month increased 26 percent.

The findings didn't surprise the Staten Island college students
sounded out yesterday by the Advance.

"I feel like just because students are not around their parents . . .
they feel like they can do whatever they want," said Kara Lapitsky, a
sophomore at Wagner College.

DAMAGING EFFECTS

The CASA report highlighted the costs to both students and colleges
of the deviant rites of passage.

Not only do excessive drinking and drug-taking lower academic
performance, lead to depression, anxiety and, in some cases, suicide,
the report said, they can also damage schools' reputations and lead
to multimillion-dollar law suits against colleges.

Wagner College has an alcohol education program to which it refers
students if they are thought to have a problem.

"I think you would find that we are very similar in a lot of ways to
most academic communities," said Joe Romano, Wagner spokesman. "I
would say there isn't any more or any less here than you would find
at other institutions.

CASA researchers pointed out that 83 percent of campus arrests in
2005 were directly related to alcohol consumption.

"I'm hearing so much about binge drinking that it doesn't come as a
surprise to me," said Linda Conte, director of Wellness and Health
Promotion at the College of Staten Island, in reference to the
increased alcohol consumption.

Often, underage students will load up on drinks at home prior to
going to a club, thus defeating the purpose of the "21" drinking age, she said.

"I think it leads to a dangerous pattern," Ms. Conte said.

Ms. Lapitsky warned that severe crackdowns on on-campus alcohol
consumption could be counterproductive. If kids are going to drink,
it's safer for them to do so in their dorms and on campus, so they
needn't drive, she said.

And cabs may not be quite the solution that some people think: The
anecdotal evidence is that Island students shun cabs in favor of
their own cars after drinking.

DRUNKEN DRIVING

Drunken driving was a concern for the CASA researchers, who noted
that 33 percent of college kids who belong to fraternities or
sororities, versus 21 percent of those who don't, are likely to drive drunk.

Indeed, the report suggested that college Greek life accelerated
drinking. Sixty-four percent of students in sororities or
fraternities were found to binge-drink frequently, as opposed to 37
percent of other students.

Erin Davis, a Wagner sophomore who belongs to a sorority, demurred.
"We don't force drinking at all," Ms. Davis said.

In general, Island students said kids drink to be social.

"It's acceptance. It's the norm," said Brian Miller, a Wagner
freshman. He noted that many students have no trouble getting
alcohol, often through fake IDs.

But with frequent drinking, "grades go down for most kids," said
freshman Kyle Morrison.

Nasta warned that regular excessive drinking could lead to decisions
that will influence the rest of people's lives -- especially women,
who could get pregnant or contract sexually transmitted diseases
while making decisions under the influence.

"It's a phenomenon of college," he said. "It's a phenomenon of our society."