Published: March 30, 2008 02:08 am      

For many, alcohol ‘just goes along with going to college’

FAIRMONT — New college students often arrive on campus full of enthusiasm for everything the experience will offer: interesting classes, new friends, academic events, sports, and, in some cases, alcohol.

“I think for a lot of students, that just goes along with going to college,” said Kat Stevens, student services counselor at Fairmont State University. “That’s the mindset.”

Not only does that first break from the parents provide a sense of newfound freedom, but some consider parties and football games a rite of passage that would not be complete without beer or another type of booze.

A major problem with this belief, however, is that most undergraduate students are under 21, the legal drinking age in West Virginia. And students living in the dormitories who have alcohol also are breaking campus rules.

“I think the alcohol use among underage students is increasing,” Stevens said. “It seems we are having an increase in the numbers of students who are sanctioned for underage usage in the residence halls.”

The numbers bear Stevens’ belief out. In 2006, the number of liquor law violations referred for disciplinary action rose by seven cases over 2005, from 49 to 56.

While that may not seem like much, both those are higher than the number of incidents reported between the years 2001-2004. The information for those years was reported differently on the Web site, www.fairmontstate.edu/admin/CampusSecurity/default.asp.

However, for those years, the number of liquor law violations reported on campus, in residence halls and on public property were 2001, 12; 2002, 34; 2003, 32; and 2004, 24.

“Making friends and enjoying each other’s company, that is an aspect of life whether you’re a student or not,” said Dan Gockley, director of residence life at Fairmont State. “That could be one of the ways you maintain a friendship. It’s pretty common in our society, and alcohol in and of itself is marketed as a social activity. Students are aware of that and participate in that as much as anyone else.”

But there can be consequences that come with those actions. “Almost every student” sanctioned for using alcohol at Fairmont State, Stevens said, has ended up having to drop classes or move out of the dorms as a result of the incident.

Far more serious consequences also can occur. Statistics from AAA provided by Gig Robinson, spokesman for the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, reveal that 1,400 college students a year die from alcohol-related incidents that can include anything from a drunk driving crash to suicide, he said.

Other AAA numbers pertaining to alcohol and college students, released in 2002, maintain that alcohol is involved in 70,000 assaults in a given year and 600,000 cases of injuries, Robinson said.

An annual event that examines alcohol use by college students and explores ways to reduce it will be held at the Mountainlair at West Virginia University on April 16. The 2008 West Virginia Governor’s Summit on Alcohol and Higher Education will be the sixth such event and will be attended by students and education officials from across the state.

“We’re doing a couple of different things,” said Robinson, who has been helping to coordinate the event. “We’re bringing everybody together so we can share trends and strategies. This way, a campus security officer at Shepherd can talk to one at Bluefield State.”

Robinson acknowledged that basic educational tactics alone do not work when trying to convince underage students not to drink.

“We know if you go to them during orientation and say, ‘Here’s a pamphlet with some rules,’ there’s no lasting effect. It has to be comprehensive. It’s only effective if you have other programs.”

WVU has a three strikes rule that requires a student with that many alcohol-related incidents to be kicked out of the dormitories. At Fairmont State, Gockley said, officials have more discretion to decide how to deal with a student caught with alcohol.

“We understand that people are human,” he said. “There may be minor violations that might not warrant being removed from housing, so we’re trying to find an appropriate balance between protecting their rights and the communities not to have to live with the individuals violating policy.”

Fairmont State students who do receive a sanction have to complete a six-hour drug and alcohol awareness session, usually held one-on-one between the student and a counselor, Stevens said.

“We look at educating them about their own drinking history — the reasons they are drinking and the consequences of their drinking,” said Stevens, who also holds an alcohol awareness week in October that includes fun events such as a non-alcoholic drink mix-off as well as more somber lectures from correctional facility inmates.

“We’re just trying to help them decide to make better choices and better decisions.”

E-mail Mary Wade Burnside at mwburnside@timeswv.com.