In a study released in April 2009, researchers found a decrease in the white brain matter of young binge drinkers. Previously it was only known to occur in older alcoholics. The white matter is important because it is what relays information from one brain cell to another. This surprising finding, is another reason that the attitude and response of a college to binge drinking is crucial when considering where to send our loved ones.
Our society has winked and laughed at the American “right of passage” known as binge drinking. Reading this might seem silly to some. But this new information, added to the rising death toll from binge drinking at the college level, should startle us. Between 1998 and 2005 the annual death toll from binge drinking in college students in America went from 1440 known cases to 1825. Sadly it appears the numbers are rising still. That is a tremendous loss to society as well as to the families of these otherwise bright young people. We need to realize that alcohol is a drug too, with potentially lethal consequences.
According to Jenny Hwang, associate dean of students and director of the counseling center at Stony Brook University on Long Island, N.Y., “college officials across the United States have taken action, putting into place peer programs and educational outreach to try to stem the tide of drinking-related hazards……
At Stony Brook, it took a tragedy to inspire an anti-binge-drinking program. The college-age son of a long-time faculty member died of acute alcohol poisoning while attending a university in the Midwest. This past spring, Hwang and others created a peer-training program that teaches students to recognize dangerous symptoms of intoxication and to call 911 when needed.
Students who complete the four-hour program, which also includes CPR training, learn that letting those who are drunk and passed out sleep it off is not the safe or wise thing to do, Hwang said. It’s called the Red Watch Band Program because those who complete it are given a red watch to wear to show they are part of the program.
Among the students who’ve signed up for the program so farm, “many of them are concerned about their friends,” Hwang said. Some have called 911, and others have distracted friends headed to a party where heavy drinking was expected by suggesting alternate activities.
More than 20 other colleges are planning to launch the program, she said.“ Latter portion of this article was quoted from an article by Kathleen Doheny, a reporter for HealthDay.
