The Sigma Kappa sorority on the campus of California State University in Chico has been suspended after one of its pledges was rushed to the hospital for alcohol poisoning.

"Freshman Bethany Dixon, 18, had reportedly been attending a Sigma Kappa function and was later hospitalized for severe alcohol poisoning Thursday night after her friends called police, said Lt. John Carrillo of the Chico Police Department."

Multiple university departments have launched investigations, with the focus being on finding out who hosted the party and who bought the alcohol. Source: The Orion (Cal State - Chico)

Labels: alcohol_abuse, hospitals, college

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When Jonathan Gibralter became president of Frostburg (Maryland) State University, one of the first things he did was institute a zero-tolerance policy on drug and alcohol use. Though some students were upset, many thanked him.

"Gibralter's public stand places him in a growing but still small minority of university presidents who openly acknowledge that substance-abuse issues are present on campus. Progressive colleges and universities are shifting their primary efforts from individual users to the entire campus community..."

Gibralter said his decision was influenced, in large part, by his experience running a drug and alcohol prevention program at another university. During his service in that capacity, Gibralter said, he and his wife urged the school's president to take action against the institution's glaring drug and alcohol problems. Source: University Business

Labels: prevention, college, binge_drinking

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Outside the Classroom is a Boston-based company that makes a software program called AlcoholEdu which is used to discourage dangerous drinking on college campuses. It recently bestowed its Prevention Excellence Award to seven colleges, including Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.

"Bentley implemented a truly comprehensive program,' Erika Tower, director of Communications and Marketing for Outside the Classroom, said in an email. 'Not only did they implement AlcoholEdu as a required program for all first-year students, but they also created a new campus organization called SAFE: Students for Alcohol-Free Events; conducted educational training in residence halls, with member of Greek life, and with athletic teams; and changed their class schedule to reduce high-risk drinking on their campus (among other things)."

Other winners included the University of Alabama, University of Iowa, and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Read more at DailyNewsTribune.com.

Labels: college, binge_drinking, high_risk_drinking

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Of the more than 7 1/2 million people who attended college in 2005, 1.8 million met the medical criteria for substance abuse or dependence. The report was released by the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and says this number is about 2 1/2 times the national average.

"[The center's president, Joseph Califano Jr.] said nearly two-thirds of college student drinkers began drinking in high school, and 8% began in junior high."

Use of prescription drugs has skyrocketed among college students, as has marijuana use. Read more at Freep.com.

Labels: high school, students, binge drinking, college

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Rates of teen alcohol abuse rise during the summer between high school and college, according to Dr. Mark Wood, a professor of psychology at the University of Rhode Island.

• Dr. Wood's research indicates that most American teenagers begin to drink by age 15 years old, but their consumption increases during that summer and their first semester of college.
• This occurs even among students whose parents establish rules and provide emotional support.
• Dr. Willett and his colleagues studied the drinking habits of 1000 incoming college freshmen, and then showed them how their habits compared to others their age.
• Some students received a Brief Motivational Intervention at the beginning of the study.

About 28 percent of the students did not drink at all, and many were surprised to learn the percent was so high. Heavy drinkers who got the intervention tended to cut back on their alcohol consumption. Moderate drinkers were less likely to transition into heavy drinking or develop alcohol-related problems if they participated in the intervention.

The study appears in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
 

Labels: alcohol_abuse, students, college

Posted By: Adolescent Substance Abuse 0 Comments