Committee Reviews Dangers Of Alcohol

For those who see drinking as splitting s six-pack among friends, a preliminary statement on roommate rights prepared by the Committee on College Life (CCL) takes a different view of the matter.

The statement, prepared at a March 17th meeting of the committee, states that "Studies on alcohol abuse at colleges and universities show that there are significant secondary effects for roommates and friends of those who drink excessively."

The "secondary effects" the committee worries about include loss of "study or sleep because [students] are worried when a friend gets so drunk he or she does nor return home until the next morning" and students who must "baby sit" their drunk roommates on weekends.

The statistics examined by both the committee on House Life and the CCL come from a study of alcohol use conducted on several college campuses, which was released last fall.

"At the average college. 30 percent of the students are binge drinkers and 75 percent of students in fraternities are binge drinkers," said Dean of students Archie C. Epps III. "At Harvard College, maybe 25 percent of the students are binge drinkers and 10 percent of the entering class are binge drinkers.

According to Epps, statistics show that more students become binge drinkers-those who consume five or more alcoholic beverages per night over a series of nights-after they arrive on campus.

"The Harvard freshmen are coming out of highly oriented, competitive settings, "Epps said, attempting to explain the relatively low level of binge drinking among entering students.

"Our Problems are practices where alcohol is an integral part of the socializing."

--Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III

But once students arrive at the College, Epps said binge drinking affects more people, posing problems for those who have to take care of intoxicated roommates and friends.

"Maybe 40 percent of Harvard students are dealing with people who are binge drinkers ," he said, "so you have people who are babysitting friends and siting in on weekends."

The preliminary statement on roommate rights is in some ways an extension of the Statement on Alcohol released by Epps and Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 in October, which states, "Alcohol will be on the agenda for a variety of constituted student and student-faculty committees this fall."

But according to Eric M. Nelson '99, chair of the Undergraduate Council Student Activities Committee, school administrators may be overstating the implication so the study for Harvard undergraduates.

"The Deans were arguing that one out of every four students was a binge drinker, so that the other three in the room were suffering in silence,' Nelson said. "[Some students on the committee] tried to point out that a more accurate way to think about it was that one out of every four rooms was a drinking room. It's far more reasonable to expect that birds of a feather will land in the same room."

In light of recent alcohol-related incidents at MIT and other college campuses, Nelson said alcohol has been on the minds of school administrators.

But Nelson also said he does not expect discussion and statement on roommate rights to have serious implications for the school's alcohol policy.

"My sense was that the students though [the statement] was not going to have much of an effect at all," Nelson said. "the general opinion was that this was very cosmetic."

Council President Beth A. Stewart '00, who was at the meeting of the COCL, agreed with Nelson's assessment.

"I think the University wants to discuss [alcohol policy] more and make students more aware of statistics regarding alcohol abuse, but I don't foresee any significant change in the alcohol policy," Stewart said.

Stewart added that College administrators recognized the dangers of associating any potential punitive action with the statement.

"I don't think this is going to result in any kind of punitive policy because the University realizes that if punitive measures increase, then the likelihood of [students] taking a sick friend to UHS decreases," Stewart said.

However, Epps was careful to point out that the statement will not revolve solely around alcohol, but will include potential problems associated with drug abuse or eating disorders, among others.

With regards to alcohol, Epps said the College has specific plans to reduce the likelihood of on-campus alcohol abuse.

"Half of the events at the college are non-alcoholic, and we want to support that," Epps said. "We will probably get funds to support that."

Epps added that events where alcohol is served are not nearly as much of a problems as events where alcohol consumption is the main focus, citing certain athletic initiations a specific examples.

"Our problems are practices where alcohol is an integral part of the socializing," Epps said

"Our Problems are practices where alcohol is an integral part of the socializing."

--Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III

But once students arrive at the College, Epps said binge drinking affects more people, posing problems for those who have to take care of intoxicated roommates and friends.

"Maybe 40 percent of Harvard students are dealing with people who are binge drinkers ," he said, "so you have people who are babysitting friends and siting in on weekends."

The preliminary statement on roommate rights is in some ways an extension of the Statement on Alcohol released by Epps and Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 in October, which states, "Alcohol will be on the agenda for a variety of constituted student and student-faculty committees this fall."

But according to Eric M. Nelson '99, chair of the Undergraduate Council Student Activities Committee, school administrators may be overstating the implication so the study for Harvard undergraduates.

"The Deans were arguing that one out of every four students was a binge drinker, so that the other three in the room were suffering in silence,' Nelson said. "[Some students on the committee] tried to point out that a more accurate way to think about it was that one out of every four rooms was a drinking room. It's far more reasonable to expect that birds of a feather will land in the same room."

In light of recent alcohol-related incidents at MIT and other college campuses, Nelson said alcohol has been on the minds of school administrators.

But Nelson also said he does not expect discussion and statement on roommate rights to have serious implications for the school's alcohol policy.

"My sense was that the students though [the statement] was not going to have much of an effect at all," Nelson said. "the general opinion was that this was very cosmetic."

Council President Beth A. Stewart '00, who was at the meeting of the COCL, agreed with Nelson's assessment.

"I think the University wants to discuss [alcohol policy] more and make students more aware of statistics regarding alcohol abuse, but I don't foresee any significant change in the alcohol policy," Stewart said.

Stewart added that College administrators recognized the dangers of associating any potential punitive action with the statement.

"I don't think this is going to result in any kind of punitive policy because the University realizes that if punitive measures increase, then the likelihood of [students] taking a sick friend to UHS decreases," Stewart said.

However, Epps was careful to point out that the statement will not revolve solely around alcohol, but will include potential problems associated with drug abuse or eating disorders, among others.

With regards to alcohol, Epps said the College has specific plans to reduce the likelihood of on-campus alcohol abuse.

"Half of the events at the college are non-alcoholic, and we want to support that," Epps said. "We will probably get funds to support that."

Epps added that events where alcohol is served are not nearly as much of a problems as events where alcohol consumption is the main focus, citing certain athletic initiations a specific examples.

"Our problems are practices where alcohol is an integral part of the socializing," Epps said