Most students have been there-a party somewhere around a college campus at which everyone is drunk.
But these circumstances may be less likely at the U than other colleges, according to a new study.
The study, produced by the U’s Center for Public Policy and Administration, compiled data from 2002 ranking the number of youth binge drinkers in each state. The study found that, at 26 percent, Utah had the smallest percentage of binge drinkers aged 18 to 25 and ranked 50th in the United States.
The nation’s leader was North Dakota, where 56 percent of youths were considered binge drinkers.
According to the Utah Department of Health, binge drinking is when a person drinks five or more alcoholic drinks one or more times in a month.
Despite Utah’s low numbers on the national scale, some feel that there is still reason for concern.
“I think drinking five or more drinks at one time, even if it is once a month, is a lot,” said Chase Airmet, a sophomore in architecture at the U.
Some disagree, however; Hayeon Kim said that drinking five or more drinks at one time isn’t necessarily a problem.
“I think the problem lies when people drink several a day, not like a lot all at once, and then no drinking for the rest of the month,” said Kim, pre-law sophomore at the U.
“I don’t see any alcohol-related problems at the U, but sometimes parties get out of hand,” she said.
Alcoholism, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is defined as when a person craves drinking, can’t control his or her drinking amounts, has physical side effects and needs to drink a vast amount to be drunk.
There are several differences between alcoholism and binge drinking. Being an alcoholic entails drinking excessively often, while binging is drinking a lot at one time. Both are considered to be alcohol abuse.
One of the institute’s brochures on college drinking states that “Drinking by college students aged 18 to 24 contributes to an estimated 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries and 97,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year.”
Drinking in moderation was stated as having no more than two drinks a day if you are male, and no more than one a day if you are female.
For more information on drinking issues contact the Campus Wellness Connection or visit its Web site at www.wellness.utah.edu.