AU students drink alcohol more often and in greater numbers than average college students nationwide, according to results of a college drug and alcohol survey made available Friday.
More than 50 percent of surveyed AU students reported binge drinking in the last two weeks, according to the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, which AU administered in February.
Forty-seven percent of college students nationwide reported binge drinking, according to the survey results.
"Underage drinking, binge drinking and drug abuse remains the most serious threat against the safety of our students that we face today," Public Safety Chief Michael McNair said in an e-mail. "Death and serious injury are far more likely to occur to AU students from alcohol and drugs than any other cause."
Recently, more college students have been drinking to get drunk than in the past, consuming more than five drinks in one sitting, according to the Core Institute's survey results.
The Core Institute administers the National Drug and Alcohol survey, which was the U.S. Department of Education developed in the 1980s, according to the Institute's Web site.
Robert Cavooris, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said he never thought AU would have a higher drinking rate than other schools.
"I think it's because we're a dry school, that drinking has been pushed underground," he said.
AU's binge drinking rate and number of alcohol and drug-related hospital transports have increased since 2005, according to the survey results.
The number of hospital transports reached an all-time high of 50 last academic year, according to Associate Dean of Students Sara Waldron. The jump from the previous year's 35 transports to 50 was also because of increased programming on campus about when to call for help and because less students were allowed to waive a transport last year.
"It's a campus-wide problem," she said. "We're not just worried about students drinking in the halls. We have always been interested in knowing how much and how often students are using alcohol and other drugs because of the health and safety issues this behavior presents."
Alcohol is linked to sexual assault on campus, as it is the most widely used date-rape drug, Waldron said.
AU students also reported other negative consequences of alcohol or other drug usage, such as missing class, getting into an argument or fight and having been trouble with the police or university personnel, according to the survey results.
"You want to prevent it, but there's not much you can do," said Laura White, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. "It's ultimately the student's choice, and they just have to be aware they can get kicked out of college for it [drinking]."
One quarter of AU students choose not to drink at all, Waldron said.
"The reality is that not everyone drinks," she said. "I think students are surprised because their impression is that everyone drinks."
Surveyed students who chose not to drink reported being negatively affected by the actions of students who drink and use drugs, Waldron said.
Students' alcohol and drug use interrupted other students' studying and messed up their living space, respondents said.
Alcohol use is the most common factor in AU's residence hall incidents, according to Paul Brown, Housing and Dining Programs' area director for the South side residence halls.
"If someone punched a hole in a ceiling tile, it was probably somehow related to alcohol," he said.
The Office of Campus Life will use the data from 600 randomly selected AU students in the Core Survey to update programming aimed at students and inform a campus-wide task force on alcohol and drug use, Waldron said.
The task force added an alcohol and drug information session to the 2003 New Student Orientation as a result of the 2002 survey results, according to Waldron. The addition occurred after the survey results showed students did not have a good understanding of AU's policies on alcohol and other drugs, she said.
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