HALF IN COLLEGE ABUSE DRUGS OR ALCOHOL

Experts Find the trend alarming

Drug and alcohol use is a chronic problem for college students across
the country, a recent report found, and one that UNC students and
officials say needs to be addressed.

Nearly half of all full-time college students binge drink and/or
abuse prescription and illegal drugs, according to a study released
March 15 by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University.

"Wasting the Best and Brightest: Substance Abuse at America's
Colleges and Universities," also stated that almost one in four
students qualify as substance abusers or addicts, two and a half
times the proportion of the U.S. public that falls under the same categories.

While experts did not identify a single responsible factor, they said
college administrators aren't doing enough to reverse the trend.

"What you see is a college leadership that tolerates, if not
facilitates this type of abuse," said Susan Foster, vice president
and director of policy research and analysis at the center.

"Administrators and parents are all winking and looking the other way
and saying it's a harmless rite of passage when there is a lot of
harm associated with it."

DeeDee Laurilliard, court alcohol program coordinator for UNC
Counseling and Wellness Services, said the University administration
is working to determine how to address substance abuse on campus.

"I think they are very supportive of the issue, and they're in the
process of defining how they will get involved," she said.

The substance culture on college campuses is the major factor
contributing to student drug and alcohol abuse, said Mitch Prinstein,
professor of psychology at UNC.

Foster agreed that peer perceptions contribute to the problem.

"Students sense that the only way to have fun is to get blasted or
get high," she said.

A majority of interviewed UNC students said they think drug and
alcohol use is a pervasive part of the social climate on campus.

Freshman Will Cole said drinking or being around people who drink is
inevitable if a student wants to participate in weekend social activities.

"People feel like to fit in they have to drink," he said. "Even if
they aren't very drunk, they'll exaggerate stories the next day."

But Jamie Snell, a sophomore majoring in nursing, said drug and
alcohol use isn't an unavoidable aspect of the social life on campus.

"Our college is so big and different, and with the group I hang out
with, I don't see it as much where it's overwhelming to me," she said.

The report analyzed the negative consequences associated with the
increased intensity of substance abuse on campuses. It links drug and
alcohol abuse to a greater number of arrests, incidents of sexual
violence and sexual encounters.

Prinstein said that it is not uncommon for young adults to experiment
with alcohol and illegal substances but that the number of college
students who become dependent on such substances is concerning.

"A lot of research has shown that young-adulthood substance use can
be a gateway toward more severe substance use and other health
problems throughout adulthood."