THE UNIVERSITY has a drinking problem. The impact of unhealthy attitudes toward alcohol usage affect every University student, whether or not they abuse the substance.The implications of the University's problems with violence and alcohol abuse were the subject of a discussion which kicked off Substance Abuse Awareness Week this past Monday. Ultimately the issues brought up by this discussion indicate that the University will never end the culture of alcohol abuse unless grassroots social change is initiated by student organizations.
While the student body has historically assumed that alcohol abuse was a normal part of college life, the realities of dangerous drinking are forcing the University community to change its attitudes. Indeed, while alcohol usage can be a normal aspect of college life, it's abuse has had a negative impact on the University community. This fact is confirmed by the 2003 Health Promotion alcohol survey which stated that 12.2 percent of female respondents had been taken advantage of sexually because of alcohol abuse, while 19.7 percent of all respondents admitted to having driven drunk. With this in mind, there is no doubt that alcohol abuse contributes to some of the worst aspects of University life, and that University health and well-being would benefit from a more balanced perspective on alcohol usage.
Fortunately, the University has acknowledged this problem and taken steps to address it. Through programs like the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Awareness Team, the University has effectively combined educational outreach with professional counseling and caused the incidence of all aspects of alcohol abuse to decline. Although these efforts have been successful in reducing the frequency of alcohol abuse, the fact remains that abuse of alcohol will always be a major aspect of life at the University unless the culture of alcohol abuse is completely eliminated. This transformation of attitudes will only occur if student organizations take the lead in promoting a radical new approach toward combating alcohol abuse.
Student organizations must ultimately take the lead in this effort, because they have a unique ability to influence the culture of the University. Indeed, because student organizations are more in touch with student life and are able to operate with greater flexibly than University programs, they have a greater capacity to incite meaningful social change. In this manner, student organizations must be empowered by the University to launch their own independent initiatives to fight the culture of alcohol abuse.
The first step toward creating an independent student initiative is coordinating the efforts of student organizations and University officials for combating alcohol abuse. To this end, student organizations have worked with the University to set up a series of discussion sessions in which University officials and leaders of student organizations can exchange ideas and coordinate efforts. The importance of these initiatives was underscored by University Health Educator Paige Hawkins, who said on Monday that "the program tonight was powerful. I hope this type of discussion will begin to take place more often." Because meetings such as the one that occurred on Monday night can play a crucial role in organizing efforts at the University, it is important that student organizations and University officials work together beyond Substance Abuse Awareness Week to continue to coordinate efforts to fight alcohol abuse.
While coordination is vital to crafting a policy to fight alcohol abuse, more efforts must be made if the culture of dangerous drinking is to be changed. Ultimately, student groups must reach out to enlist a large network of individuals who can support their efforts. This group could act as a catalyst for meaningful social change by providing low pressure peer counseling services, and by actively working to put a face on a new attitude toward alcohol at the University. Through these efforts the silent majority of students who reject abuse of alcohol could become visible, and students with alcohol abuse problems would know who to turn to as a source of support.
While the University has effectively worked to decrease the rate of alcohol abuse, the onus for ending the culture of unhealthy drinking must fall on the student body. If the student body responds to this call, they can create a healthier, happier future for the University.
Adam Keith's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at akeith@cavalierdaily.com.
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