CAL POLY SURVEY LINKED ALCOHOL, VIOLENCE

Alcohol and violence are far from strangers.

A 1996 Cal Poly survey found that 80 percent of students reported they
were victims of unwanted sexual intercourse had consumed alcohol or
other drugs.

"There's just a higher likelihood of being involved in an issue of
violence ... when alcohol is involved," said Juan C. Gonzalez, Cal
Poly's vice pres-ident for student affairs.

Gonzalez, however, stressed that two Cal Poly students who disappeared
after drinking should be not held responsible for their fates. Rachel
Newhouse disappeared last week, and Kristin Smart disappeared
two-and-a-half years ago.

"No one should be a victim of violence just because they've been out
partying," he said.

The October 1996 survey of 843 students questioned whether they had
experienced threats of physical violence, actual physical violence,
theft involving force or threat of force, forced sexual touching or
unwanted sexual intercourse around campus during the previous year.

In all but the theft category, more than half the victims said they
had used drugs or alcohol. Only 1.3 percent of the students surveyed
reported being involved in a theft and of those, 30 percent had used
drugs or alcohol.

Of the 843 students surveyed, about 51 percent of the 81 students who
said they had been threatened with violence had used alcohol or drugs.
It was the same for 68 percent of the 34 students who reported they
had suffered physical violence and 72 percent of the 34 students who
reported forced sexual touching. Unwanted sexual intercourse was
reported by 27 students.

About 23 percent of the students reported drinking alcohol more than
three times in the previous week.

More than half of the students reported drinking two or fewer drinks a
week, said Mary Bragg, Cal Poly's director of health and psychological
services. That means "some students are out there drinking 25 drinks a
week," he added.

Although college students drink somewhat more than other people of the
same age, the percentage of heavy drinkers remains at about 5 percent
to 10 percent for all age groups, he said.

"Is this a serious problem? Yes. Is this a serious problem for lots of
Cal Poly students? No," Bragg said.

Cal Poly students' drinking experiences in the 1996 survey showed a
decline from studies in 1992 and 1993 and is about or below the
national average, he said.

Poly has several programs to discourage excessive drinking, Gonzalez
said. Among them is the Violence Intervention and Prevention or VIP
program, which promotes alcohol-free social events and safety awareness.

"When you're somewhere where there are alcohol or drugs ... your
personal risks go up and you need to be more careful," Bragg said.

"You shouldn't go somewhere without a buddy," he said, and you should
always tell someone where you're going.

"If you're going to drink heavily, you are going to need someone
watching over you that you can trust."

One of the problems is perceptions about drinking that young people
bring to college, said Mary Peracca, a prevention specialist with the
county Drug and Alcohol Services.

Rather than going out and having one or two drinks, many young
students belive "the norm is to go out and really get hammered," she
said.

Gonzalez said the emphasis on responsible drinking begins even before
students arrive on campus and continues during Week of Welcome and
beyond.

"One of the realities of our society is that alcohol is available," he
said.

"Frankly our desire is to help people understand responsible
consumption," he said. "Consumption in excess is not reasonable, it's
not healthy. It increases vulnerability and has a serious impact on
your life, academically, socially, and on your safety."

Checked-by: Patrick Henry