It is no secret that those in college drink in excess and now a study conducted by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health corroborates the claims that students drink more than the general population.
In the most recent national survey on alcohol use throughout the country, college campuses were revealed as the most common sites of heavy drinking.
While 13.4 percent of 18 to 22 year olds not enrolled in a full-time college reported signs of heavy alcohol use, nearly 18 percent of the same age group were enrolled in a full-time college exhibited habits of high-risk drinking, according to the 2003 study released Feb.11, 2005. The standard measure for a heavy drinker is seven drinks for a male in one sitting and four drinks for a female in one sitting.
The study showed the breakdown of heavy alcohol use by region and concluded the Midwest to be the foremost region of the country cited for excessive drinking, while the South showed the fewest signs of risk drinking.
The University of Wisconsin is no exception to the rule.
“I think it is a northern climate issue, also partly [the number of residents] with Northern European heritage blended with a bit of Wild West ethics,” said University of Wisconsin associate professor of family medicine Richard Brown.
A staggering 30.2 percent of Madison residents in the 18 to 23 year old demographic reported heavy drinking more than 10 times a month, according to a Policy Alternatives Community and Education (PACE) study.
This figure is almost twice as high as the national average of heavy drinkers on college campuses.
However, the numbers do not tell the whole story.
“Madison [is seen to have] an extraordinarily high rate of binge-drinking because of the number of college students [in the immediate area.],” PACE Project Director Susan Crowley said.
Brown agreed with the sentiment, adding that Madison feels the effects of having “lots of young people in a state where drinking beer is a [large] part of the tradition.”
Many UW students are well aware of the notion of heavy, risk drinking before even setting foot on campus.
According to Crowley, students at Madison translate working hard during the week as a reason to party hard on the weekend and students are also more free thanks to an absence of authority figures formerly present in high school.
“Cheap, easy access to alcohol is a theme of Madison and contributes to risk drinking,” Crowley added, saying when students come to Madison from all over the country, the importance of alcohol use in the culture becomes all too apparent.
Brown feels that in order to truly cut down on the rate of excessive drinking, which amounts to the deaths of 1,400 college students throughout the country per year, Madison should enact higher taxes on beer purchases.
“Many studies show that drinking is price sensitive; other states with higher alcohol taxes have seen a decrease in drinking among young people.”
Alcohol use remains a staple of college life here at UW, with only 12 percent of the population abstaining from drinking. However, the prevalence of high-risk drinking on campus can also be attributed to drinking within the state and region.
“In this state, [alcohol use] becomes both a social and recreational activity.” Crowley said. “Drinking is [especially] part of the in-state students’ culture.”