Are Vassar students drinking dangerously?

Alexandra Matthews Life Editor

Sarah Siegel Life Editor

In 2007 Vassar Emergency Medical Services (EMS) received 130 calls, a nearly 50 percent increase from 2006, and a 130 percent increase from 2002. Forty-five students had to be hospitalized, and 50 went to Baldwin, the majority for alcohol-related problems.

It is figures like these, seemingly indicating a rise in high-risk drinking behavior, that were on the minds of college deans and administrators when they addressed the Vassar Student Association (VSA) at its Feb. 10 meeting. What followed was a long dicussion between the deans and VSA, in an attempt to understand and solve what they see as a possible crisis.

But, is there a crisis? “I don’t think Vassar has any more of a drinking problem than other small liberal arts schools,” said Head EMT Sasha Brin ’08. “I think the rise in calls mostly has to do with people being more comfortable with calling, and that’s a good thing.”

Brin said that one innocent force behind the increase in calls could be the Good Samaritan policy. Instituted in 2005, the policy shields students from disciplinary proceedings if they call EMS for themselves or friends.

Baldwin Medical Center’s Dr. Irene Balawajder said that another reason for the rise in calls may be an increase in comfort with calling EMS for all health issues. “[Because of] the publicity and more information, [there is] an increased number of students coming in for all medical reasons,” she said. “The more information that’s out there, the more students that are coming, and we’re very, very gratified to see that,” she said.

Whether there has been an increase in drinking or just an increase in the number of people who call for help, some administrators stress that the 45 students who were hospitalized in 2007 were 45 too many.

“The serious issue is the amount that students drink and that in a short period of time they drink a large amount of alcohol. That’s the at-risk activity that I think we’re trying to get a hold on,” said John Craig, Baldwin Physician’s Assistant who sees most of the follow-ups for intoxicated patients and coordinates and supervises the EMTs on campus.

“Pre-gaming, binge-drinking…are really putting students at serious risk. I think it’s the freshmen who don’t realize the amount, and it’s a matter of them not knowing their limit and being inexperienced drinkers with no tolerance,” he said.

The Class of 2011 certainly started the school year with a bang—seven students went to the hospital during freshman week alone. “We don’t really get seniors,” said Brin. “They’ve either learned not to call or not get trashed enough to hold themselves up straight.”

A health survey from 2007 conducted by the American College Health Association showed that many, but not all Vassar students take precautions when drinking—including the more than 75 percent that designate drivers for drinking nights, the almost 40 percent who said that they went out knowing how much they would drink beforehand, and the almost 80 percent who said that they made sure to eat before or during the times they drank.

Those precautions, however, seem to have had only limited success. In 2007 15.3 percent of students reported that they had been physically injured because of drinking; 4.3 percent said that it interfered with their academics. Seven percent had unprotected sex after drinking, and more than a third reported having done something they later regretted because of alcohol use.

Some of these longer-term concerns are what preoccupy Balawajder. “What we we’re seeing in some sense is a fallout of students from being up all night partying,” she said. “We’re seeing that they’re more complaining of increased stress levels and anxiety, because after partying they have to do their work the next day. It has more of an interaction in student lifestyles and an impact on their academic performance,” Balawajder said.

“I felt like there wasn’t a lot of pressure but [drinking] was something everyone did,” said one junior, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “It was a way to let loose after a long week of studying.”
But while the student said there was no explicit pressure, the student also explained that “it was pretty much essential to drink or go to the Mug. It became a mentality for us.”

Balawajder agreed that adjusting drinking habits is an issue of campus culture. “We’ve had some discussions with the administration of how can we change that,” she said.

“I think it’s a concern,” said the student, “but I don’t know of a clear way to stop it unless you get rid of drinking entirely, which isn’t possible. I don’t know what the solution is, but I think it’s a concern, especially with the number of people going to the hospital lately.”

A report developed for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism task force on college drinking posited several kinds of intervention to reduce high-risk behaviors on college campuses. While the report offered some affirmative suggestions that the deans are considering (including changing campus norms and strictly enforcing disciplinary procedures), it did not endorse the one category of intervention that is most visible for Vassar students.

Under the heading “Interventions That Don’t Work,” you can find “required courses.” Vassar’s required course of choice, AlcoholEdu, has had a mixed reception.

In 2007, only 61 percent of students who were supposed to take the course completed it. Of those, 92 percent found the course at least “a little helpful,” with 37.4 percent said it was “somewhat” helpful. In response to similar questions about how much the course had taught them, most students gave the course a lukewarm review at best.

At the same time, of those who filled out a follow-up survey, a third reported having thought about AlcoholEdu’s content when they were making alcohol-related decisions.

“In the Dean of the College division we’ll talk about putting educational components in place to help,” said Craig. “But as far as the immediate, we need to get the word out that if you have a friend or yourself that’s in danger of severe alcohol poison, you need to get in contact with EMS. That’s the important thing. Don’t put someone to bed totally drunk,” he said.