Well written Robert, but what can we do when the media and many
institutions of higher learning hang their hat on the "prestigious"
Harvard Survey that has again catapulted us back into the the "oh woe is
us, those college students are still binge drinking." My own college
participates in this survey, and the administration says, "oh woe is
us," but that is the end of it.
Do you have another survey you use to find a more accurate assessment of
your school's rate of drinking? I don't mean the "Core" either. Is
there something more accurate?
Also, how am I to continue positive norming when the Harvard survey told
us that 67% of our students "binge drink," and that 63.9% of our
students report that they drink to get drunk.
On the other hand, I mentioned to the list a while back that my students
have multiple definitions of what "drunk" is! Of the 63.9%, I believe a
good number are saying they are feeling pretty good and relaxed after
drinking. Is that bingeing? Well, we all know this is not necessarily
so, but these are the figures I have to work with. Any help from
anyone would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Corey
--On Mon, Mar 27, 2000 5:29 AM -0800 "Robert J. Chapman, Ph.D."
<chapman@LASALLE.EDU> wrote:
> Who's Driving the Bus?
> by Robert J. Chapman, Ph.D.
>
> Have you ever found yourself suddenly aware that you have no
recollection
> of the last few minutes/miles after having driven on an Interstate for
an
> extended period? I'm not asking if you are an alcoholic who has
emerged
> from a blackout while driving. Rather, who among us cannot admit to
> entering that "zone" induced by the rhythmic "bump thump, bump-thump"
of
> tires crossing pavement segments or the constant hum of the tires on
the
> tarmac or metronome like beat of wiper blades on a rain streaked wind
> screen?
>
> While cruising down the Interstate, the "auto pilot" switched on and
in
> full control, a driver can literally travel miles with absolutely no
> awareness of the journey...signs are ignored, exits missed, scenery
passes
> unnoticed. It's only when called upon to negotiate a particularly
> challenging situation or encountering an unexpected road hazard that
we are
> catapulted back to the present, often with a start that rivals a 100
joules
> from the ER doc's paddles. Complete with a white knuckle death grip on
the
> steering wheel and a flood of adrenaline that renders muscles beyond
> rational control, the driver is momentarily little more than a
passenger
> hurtling through space. Well folks, I write to suggest that higher
ed's
> AOD professionals may well have entered that "zone" as
> we cruse on the information super highway. If so, we best prepare for
the
> wake-up call that will jolt us back to the present.
>
> If you haven't noticed, there is a battle being waged for control of
> prevention strategies regarding alcohol and other drugs on America's
> college and university campuses. On one side are those who have
hunkered
> down with a pessimistic view of collegiate drinking practices that
focus
> exclusively on "binge drinkers" and "teetotalers." Rather than report
the
> data that highlight the majority of students who are moderate in the
> alcohol consumption - these are mostly the media - they opt for the
sexier
> headline, "44% of students binge drink." On the other side are those
who
> view collegians as incapable of making responsible choices on their
own.
> This camp argues that a solution to the problem of collegiate bingeing
must
> be legislated. A splinter group of this bunch insists on using old
> approaches to affect change in collegiate drinking - values
clarification
> and "awareness campaigns" - hoping that this time, they will somehow
be
> effective in shaping student behavior.
>
> As professionals, it is not uncommon to be focused on the media. Let's
face
> it, many of us are "news junkies." We consume a steady diet of
e-reports
> and listserv discussions about "collegiate drinking." We consume the
10
> o'clock news, 60 Minutes, and the Daily News. We hear the "bump-thump,
> bump-thump" that "binge drinking" is the ubiquitous description of
5+/4+
> drinks in one outing. We hear the incessant drone of alcohol awareness
> theme weeks and we enter "the zone" without ever realizing we're
there.
> Some of us use the terms - coined by those who study student behaviors
but
> never seem to have time to listen to what individual students actually
say
> about the resulting lexicon - without question. We accept the money
> proffered by politicians and follow their belief that the quick fix of
> informing students to "just say no" is somehow the answer to the
nation's
> drug problem. We echo the importance of increasing one's
understanding of
> the risks associated with addiction and believe that this time around,
> awareness campaigns alone will result in a reduction in adolescent
> experimentation and/or incidents of regular AOD use.
>
> There is a one approach to prevention that has been available to us
for
> better than a decade. This approach has been tested on numerous
campuses
> across the country, all with the same positive results. It represents
> something we can do that will affect the frequency of AOD use and the
> quantity consumed on any given occasion. This promising approach to
> prevention has the rather bland moniker of "social norms" campaigns,
and
> this name, in and of itself, may be a significant part of the problem
the
> model has had in capturing the attention of the media and community at
> large.
>
> Many of us in higher ed have come to appreciate social norms campaigns
as a
> relatively simple, inexpensive, and highly effective way to impact the
> campus drinking culture. This was clearly indicated in the recent
> zoomerang.com e-survey I recently conducted on this approach to
prevention.
> Yet our apparent tolerance if not acceptance of the sexier concept of
> collegiate "binge drinking" has all but conceded newspaper headlines
and
> radio/TV sound bites to those who may study student drinking but have
never
> worked with the individuals who are responsible for the behavior.
>
> Now I admit, it is only some of us who use these terms, many don't.
But too
> few of us are actively engaged in protesting the persistent use of
archaic
> prevention strategies or the employment of misleading and deceptive
> terminology. If there is one place where the pursuit of truth and the
> veracity of the written word should be scrupulously accurate, that is
> higher education. As regards the use of the term "binge drinking," if
it is
> discovered that the media have perverted the term's intended meaning,
that
> term should be abandoned. If the population to which the term was
intended
> to apply has so vociferously rejected it as to make the term a reason
to
> reject the findings about collegiate drinking, the term needs to be
> changed. And if we fail to demand this and insist that the good news
also
> found in the results of collegiate drinking research should be clearly
> reported, then perhaps we have entered "the zone" as we travel down
the
> information superhighway...bump thump...bump thump...bump thump...
>
> Robert J. Chapman, Ph.D.
> Coordinator, AOD Programs
> Associate Faculty, Clinical/Counseling Psychology
> La Salle University Counseling Center
> 1900 W. Olney Ave.
> Philadelphia, PA 19141-1199
> Phone: 215-951-1355 Fax: 215-951-1451
>
> mailto:chapman@lasalle.edu
> home page http://www.lasalle.edu/~chapman/home.htm
_____________________________________________________________________
Corita (Corey) Fischer
Health Education/UMD Health Services
University of Minnesota Duluth
815 E. University Circle
Duluth, Minnesota 55812
Phone:218-726-7058
Fax: 218-726-6132
cfischer@d.umn.edu
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