Hoping to provide incoming students with a clear understanding of the negative effects of binge drinking, officials at the University of Colorado at Boulder may require freshmen to take an online alcohol education course.
Following the lead of many other universities, UC-Boulder is likely to require students take the Alcohol Edu course so the various universities can compare statistics.
The Alcohol Edu course has a different individual focus based on the interview questions it asks each student. Results are anonymous, but universities are supplied with general statistics concerning their incoming students’ views on alcohol use and abuse.
Students in Madison are unsure of how effective online alcohol education courses would be in changing students’ behavior.
“It’s good to know about the dangers of alcohol abuse,” UW sophomore Mollie Schane said. “For some people, college is the first opportunity they have to drink, and they might not know their limits.”
Schane added, however, the majority of students on campus who drink regularly would probably continue to do so after taking the classes.
“Promoting awareness is good, but it won’t stop the drinking all together,” she said.
The University of Wisconsin has 40,884 students, while UC-Boulder has 31,415 students.
The Department of Education shows very different crime statistics for the two schools, both of which consistently rank near the top of the list of party schools by the Princeton Review.
In 2002, there were 837 reported liquor violation arrests in Madison, while in Boulder there only 259 were reported. However, in the same year Boulder had 1,267 liquor violation disciplinary actions or judicial referrals, while Madison had only 230.
In addition, while UW had no judicial referrals on private property, Boulder had 1,129.
UW Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Paul Barrows feels alcohol courses are a good idea, but is not sure an alcohol-specific course is the best solution for Madison.
“My general feeling is that online orientation programs are good,” Barrows said, adding any program the university could offer incoming students to help with college adjustment would be a good idea. “Unfortunately, alcohol is a real issue on campus. We’ve had discussions about this before, and concluded that a required alcohol education course is not the best model for this campus.”
Barrows noted the question of how many orientation programs were available on campus had recently arisen.
“We realized that we had many different programs, so we looked at the common criteria to see what elements we needed to emphasize,” Barrows said. “One core component is alcohol abuse and another is diversity on campus.”
Susan Crowley, director of Policy, Alternatives, Community and Education, said while students are not required to take an alcohol quiz, such a quiz was made available to students online this past fall.
“We implemented the e-CHUG alcohol assessment tool, after evaluating a number of online tools,” Crowley said. “We have heavily publicized its availability on our internet site and through university housing and the Greek system.”
Crowley added the Greek system had made the quiz mandatory for its new pledges, but it was otherwise voluntary. Promoters of the quiz have been encouraged thus far by the number of visits to the website.
“As discussions continue about possible freshmen seminars or freshmen orientations for new students, this or some other acceptable tool, should be considered as part of a standard program,” she said.
Binge drinking is defined as five drinks or more in a row for men and four drinks or more in a row for women, according to the University Health Services website. PACE received a new grant in 2002 to continue promoting awareness of the risks of heavy drinking.
