COLLEGE DRINKING: SURVEY CONCERNS SOUTHEAST OFFICIALS

Phyllis Schnell says she often feels like she is trying to hold back the ocean in her efforts to warn Southeast Missouri State University students about alcohol abuse.

But the university's coordinator of substance abuse prevention says she isn't waging a one-person battle: She has plenty of help from student groups like SADD, Students Against Driving Drunk.

Southeast is among 3,000 colleges and universities participating in National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week. Activities began Monday and run through Friday.

Events include a "mocktail" party and dance with non-alcoholic cocktails at Towers cafeteria tonight and a lock-in and volleyball tournament at the Student Recreation Center Friday night.

Schnell is scheduled to lecture Wednesday night about the dangers of binge drinking. Her talk, titled "I'm Not As Think As You Drunk I Am," will begin at 8 p.m. in Crisp Hall Auditorium.

Despite "awareness week" activities, the message of responsible drinking remains a tough sell on college campuses.

Nationwide, 12 million college students consume 430 gallons of alcoholic beverages a year.

Forty-six percent of 590 Southeast students surveyed in spring 1996 said they had been binge drinking in the previous two weeks.

That is higher than the national average of 39 percent. The Southeast students were among 38,715 college students surveyed in the national poll.

Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting.

Schnell said binge drinking is dangerous. It can lead to alcohol poisoning and even death, she said.

Nationwide, there has been a 15 percent increase over the past five years in the number of people treated in hospital emergency rooms for alcohol overdoses, she said.

The liver can process one drink an hour, Schnell said.

A person who drinks 21 shots of liquor on his or her 21st birthday may never celebrate another birthday, she said.

"It seems like such a harmless rite of passage, and yet it is such a deadly rite of passage," said Schnell.

Underage drinking remains a problem at Southeast, she said. Sixty-nine percent of underage Southeast students who were surveyed said they had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days.

Many Southeast students also are driving drunk.

Forty-one percent said they drove a car while under the influence of alcohol. But less than 3 percent said they had been arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Alcohol can lead students to miss classes. Schnell said some Southeast students have dropped out of school because of alcohol abuse.

Schnell teaches a seminar about alcohol abuse to students who are found guilty of alcohol-related violations of the campus code of conduct.

So far this semester some 70 students have been ordered by the school to take the two-hour seminar.

Schnell said she takes no more than 10 students for each two-hour session. She estimated that only about 35 students have gone through the sessions so far this fall.

The students also must go through individual counseling at the university's Center for Health and Counseling.

Schnell said residence hall staff members have been instructed to take notice of alcohol abuse and report all violations.

She said both men and women have drinking problems. Alcohol abuse isn't confined to fraternities and sororities, she said.

But a report last year from the Harvard School of Public Health found 75 percent of fraternity men nationwide were binge drinkers compared to 45 percent of other male students.

The same study found that 62 percent of sorority women were binge drinkers compared to 35 percent of non-sorority women.

Over the last 20 years, 70 members of fraternity organizations nationwide have suffered alcohol-related deaths.

Southeast has a group called Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol that pushes for such thing as designated drivers at parties and the checking of ID cards to be sure that alcohol isn't served to underage students.

Schnell said society too often glamorizes drinking in movies and advertising.

"In reality, your speech is slurred and you will probably throw up on your date," she said.

Sophomore Wendy Turner of Kansas City knows about the horrors of drinking and driving: An 18-year-old friend of hers was killed by a drunken driver.

Turner heads up the SADD chapter at Southeast. The chapter was founded three years ago.

Last year, it had five members. This year, through the efforts of Turner and others, the group has grown to 57 members.

But Turner said many Southeast students ignore the message. She said a number of students told her during homecoming week that they intended to drink and drive during the annual celebration.

Still, not everyone drinks at Southeast. Nearly 14 percent of the students surveyed said they never drink.

Schnell said the survey showed students think their fellow students drink more than they actually do.

But that doesn't lessen Schnell's concerns about alcohol abuse.

"We do know students are dying on college campuses from alcohol poisoning," she said.

Some nationwide numbers:

-- 4 percent of all college students drink daily.

-- 12 million college students consume 430 million gallons of alcoholic beverages a year.

-- College students consume nearly 4 billion cans of beer a year.

-- The typical student will spend more money for alcoholic beverages than for textbooks (about $446 per student).

-- Students spend $5.5 billion out-of-pocket money on alcohol.

-- 80 percent of all campus vandalism is alcohol-related.

-- 11 percent of college drinkers report missing classes because of their drinking.

-- College administrators say alcohol is a factor in 40.8 percent of all academic problems and 28.3 percent of dropouts.

DRINKING AT SOUTHEAST

Results of a survey of 590 Southeast Missouri State University students conducted in spring 1996:

-- 86 percent consumed alcohol in the past year.

-- 70 percent consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days.

-- 69 percent of underage students consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days.

-- 46 percent said they consumed five or more drinks in one setting in the previous two weeks (binge drinking); the national average is 39 percent.

-- Average number of alcoholic drinks consumed per week by a student is six; the national average, 4.5.

-- 41 percent drove a car while under the influence of alcohol.

-- 33 percent missed a class.

-- 26 percent performed poorly on a test or important project.

-- 13 percent were hurt or injured.

-- 2.9 percent were arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Source: Center for Health and Counseling at Southeast Missouri State University.