Greg Caggiano

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the U.S. National Institute of Health, defines binge drinking as "a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 gram percent or above..."[within the span of] two hours." Roughly this translates to approximately five drinks for men and four drinks for women depending on body mass.

Certainly, not every RIT student stops before they reach that four or five drinks. Many of us have stories involving our friends walking in drunk at one in the morning. They disappear and we think nothing of it, only to find them passed out, propped up against a toilet an hour later. Even if you have never been been the one propped up against the toilet, the scenes which lead up to that are a familiar scenario. It seems to be a staple of every college and high school movie—Superbad comes to mind. The message so frequently depicted in the media is that partying and having a great time while getting drunk is much more fun than being responsible. But is there more to the story?

It may be surprising, but according to the U.S. Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, the average college student spends up to $466 on alcohol a year. Put together, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that college students spend over $5.5 billion on alcohol annually.

While it is possible for a party to take place without vomit, accidents, or fights, it is highly unlikely that there was not at least one example of the negative effects of inebriation. On average, 1400 college students die in alcohol-related incidents says the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. Health issues, poor academic performance, destruction of property, and sexual assault add to the mix.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health’s College Alcohol Study, “About 10% of female students who are frequent binge drinkers report being raped or subjected to nonconsensual sex, compared to only 3% of non-bingeing female students. Furthermore, most campus rapes occur after heavy drinking.” In addition, CASA reports, “Alcohol is involved in 90% of campus rapes.”

Despite the undeniable harm that drinking can bring, why do students continue to do it? Hardly out of the ordinary, first year Mechanical Engineering Tech major, Tom Coppinger says he drinks twice a week. He reasoned, “RIT sucks,” and he wants to “to have some fun,” while Jared Clark, a first year Polymer Chemistry/Pre-Med major, says that he drinks “to get away at the end of a hard week, and to have a good time.” This indicates that there is definitely an aura of novelty surrounding drinking. “You can do things that are socially embarrassing and nobody will hold it against you,” Coppinger added. In essence, the idea of binge drinking is tied to recklessness and freedom.

However, some RIT students feel they are being responsible. Coppinger affirmed, “I always have a DD.” Additionally, Clark offered this advice: “If you’re going out, be responsible… and don’t make it a habit. Be smart about it.” Clark is no teetotaler: “I drink once or twice every week… [but] I control everything I do.”

Are RIT students as responsible as they claim to be? Steph Lipari, a third year Ad Photo major and Resident Advisor (RA), said, “Drinking is not a huge problem [in the dorms], but it is still an issue.” On the other hand, Diana VanGorder, a third year Interior Design major and RA, noted,“[Drinking] can be a problem, depending on the person, because students are not always responsible when they choose to drink.” When asked about the difficulty in dealing with drunk students, VanGorder responded, “It can be frustrating depending on the situation, and whether the person is being belligerent.”

Unfortunately, just because RIT students think they are responsible, it does not mean that the problem is any less severe on other campuses. “We’re the national average for a university our size in respect to the amount of drinking problems” said Karen Pelc, Coordinator for the Alcohol and Drug Program at the Student Health Center (SHC). When asked about students being responsible when drinking, Pelc responded, “The age group of students under 21 are using it illegally, and that’s not being responsible.” She also mentioned that students above the age of 21 tend to take more responsibility, but many will still act irresponsibly. That being said, I asked Pelc which groups are the most likely to binge drink or abuse alcohol, and she answered, “Freshmen do drink a lot because they are just away from parents, and they are exposed to a lot. Statistically, Greeks and athletics are also a high risk group, but a lot of them do have educational programs inside their organizations.”

With this in mind, RIT does provide services to prevent alcohol abuse through the SHC. “We try to do non-alcohol events. We are involved in the Gordie Foundation, and we have giveaways with educational messages. We hold programs with peer educators, and speeches. We have a big focus on social norm-ing,” Pelc mentioned. In addition to the prevention services, the SHC has the Alcohol and Drug program to help people cope with and manage their substance abuse. “The big thing for us is that we want to educate it and let people know that we’re here.”