More low-risk, fewer binge drinkers on campus
|
Print
E-mail
Binge drinking is defined as having four or more drinks in one sitting. This amount is based on the “average weight of an average person drinking for an average number of hours,” said Ray Rodriguez, health promotion coordinator and interim coordinator for the office of substance abuse and violence prevention. By doing so, he said, the consumer’s blood-alcohol content is going to be above the limit.
A “drink” is the equivalent of one 12-ounce beer, one ounce — one shot — of hard alcohol or one four- or five-ounce glass of wine, Rodriguez said.
He said those who have five or more drinks in one sitting take a threefold risk compared those who have four drinks or fewer.
“The loss of inhibitions, feelings of relaxation, sense of euphoria — all of those things happen at a BAC of below .08,” Rodriguez said, explaining that some effects of alcohol take place before the level of binge drinking.
Rodriguez said binge drinking occurs on campus, but not to the extent people believe.
“Our own campus research shows that we have a small percentage [18 percent] of people who binge on a regular basis,” he said. “That means the majority of students on this campus do not binge drink on a regular basis.”
He said research on campus has shown 55 percent of the student population drinks at low risk “all of the time.” One quarter of the ISU student population chooses not to drink at all.
Rodriguez said factors that may lead people to “overestimate the drinking issue” are things like the amounts of vomit, noise, damage, trouble and drunk phone calls associated with drinking.
Rob Bowers, associate director of public safety and deputy ISU police chief, said distinguishing the differences between drinking socially and binge drinking aren’t as important in the areas in which he works.
“Binge drinking in and of itself is not a crime,” Bowers said. “It may be a crime if you’re underage, it may be a crime if you drink to the level of intoxication and you’re out in public, it’s certainly a crime if you drink to the level of intoxication and go drive, but ... whether it’s your first time or tenth time in a row, from a law enforcement perspective, it really doesn’t matter.”
Being underage and drinking can lead to fines and even jail time, Bowers said.
Possession of alcohol under the legal age carries a $314 fine in surcharge and court fees for the first offense. Subsequent offenses may require more money or time in jail, depending on the case and the judge’s ruling.
Public intoxication and operating while intoxicated charges don’t have set fines for individuals. Bowers said the severity of the offense and the circumstances surrounding the charges play a role in determining the fine and the length of jail time the person may serve.
He said an example of the variation in the amount of money and time is a case of vehicular homicide in connection with a charge of operating while intoxicated. Someone who is arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated would have a smaller fine and fewer days to serve in jail than someone who kills an individual while driving drunk.
“You only absorb an ounce of alcohol per hour through your liver and so no matter how much you drink it still takes that amount of time to absorb if you had a healthy liver,” said Marilyn Polito, director of emergency services at Mary Greeley Medical Center.
Polito said fewer emergency calls had been placed by ISU students this year compared to other years. She said she didn’t have any numbers to compare year to year, but she said current economic conditions have impacted the amount of discretionary funds available to purchase alcohol.
Veishea week typically means more emergency calls, Polito said. She said additional members will be working in the emergency rooms and on the paramedic crews during Veishea week.
Bowers also said Veishea keeps law enforcement officials busy.
He said arrests may be a result of a phone call with a noise complaint or arrests may be officer-initiated. This means an officer can ask someone he or she suspects to be underage and under the influence for ID.
“Alcohol arrests in general are up over a typical weekend during a Veishea weekend,” Bowers said.
In 2008, 37 individuals were arrested due to alcohol-related charges at Veishea. In 2007, 95 alcohol-related charges were reported. In 2006, 56 of the 66 total arrests were related to the consumption of alcohol.
Bowers said the weather and the number of attendees at Veishea festivities play a role in the difference in numbers.
Through the Students 2 Students program Rodriguez coordinates, students serve as peer mentors and discuss health-related topics. Rodriguez and the students involved in the program present programs to students wherein they debunk myths about alcohol. They also provide information to students so they can talk to their friends and family members about the effects of alcohol.
“This is not us trying to use a scare tactic,” Rodriguez said. “This is us trying to have genuine conversations and being up front with students.”
He said his goal is to have students recognize the binge drinking has negative consequences.
“How do we empower the non-drinker to say: ‘You know, enough. I’m tired of broken windows, I’m tired of vomit, I’m tired of it smelling like this on my floor, I’m tired of coming into the bathroom at six in the morning on a Sunday and finding someone passed out. I’m tired of the phone call at two in the morning, I’m tired of my friend making the drunk dial. I’m tired of finding someone who’s scared of me because they’re so drunk they have no idea who the hell I am. I’m tired of not being able to buy someone a drink without them going ‘are going to have sex with me or are you trying to get me to bed?’” Rodriguez said.
ISU annual statistics
Number of arrests, offense
2008: 87 Operating while intoxicated
134 Public intoxications
286 Liquor law violations
2007: 115 Operating while intoxicated
176 Public intoxications
349 Liquor law violations
2006: 162 Operating while intoxicated
148 Public intoxications
324 Liquor law violations
— Information courtesy ISU department of public safety
Penalties
Rob Bowers: Possession of alcohol under the legal age is a $314 fine in surcharge and court fees for the first offense. Subsequent offenses may require more money or time in jail.
Public intoxication and operating while intoxicated charges don’t have set fines for individuals. The severity of the offense and the circumstances surrounding the charges play a role in determining the fine and the length of jail time the person may serve.
Criminal penalties for sales-to-minors violations
When licensees sell, give or otherwise supply an alcoholic beverage to someone under the legal drinking age, licensees may be charged and convicted in criminal court. The criminal penalty imposed by the courts is a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1,500 when the violation is committed by the licensee or $500 when the violation is committed by the licensee’s employee or agent.
Criminal penalties for minors
When a minor purchases or attempts to purchase, or has an alcoholic beverage in his or her control or possession, the minor may be charged and convicted in criminal court.
Following are the criminal penalties imposed by the courts for purchasing or attempting to purchase or controlling or possessing an alcoholic beverage:
First violation: simple misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine.
Second violation: simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500. In addition to any other applicable penalty, the person in violation shall choose between either completing a substance-abuse evaluation or the suspension of the person’s motor vehicle operating privileges for a period not to exceed one year.
Third and subsequent violations: simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 and the suspension of the person’s motor vehicle operating privileges for a period not to exceed one year.
When the violation is committed by a minor under age 18, the matter is handled by the juvenile court.
Blood-alcohol concentration
Blood-alcohol concentration is a measure used to classify a person’s degree of impairment. BAC refers to the amount of alcohol in relation to blood in the body. The more alcohol in a person’s blood, the greater the degree of impairment. Under Iowa law, a person is legally intoxicated when the blood-alcohol concentration is .08 or higher — .02 for persons under 21.
Iowa Code sections 123.49(1) and 321J.2
Blood-alcohol concentration and intoxication
An individual’s response to alcohol may vary depending upon his or her tolerance for alcohol, amount of food intake, fatigue and other factors. An individual’s driving may be impaired after only one drink.
— Information courtesy of the State of Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division
A “drink” is the equivalent of one 12-ounce beer, one ounce — one shot — of hard alcohol or one four- or five-ounce glass of wine, Rodriguez said.
He said those who have five or more drinks in one sitting take a threefold risk compared those who have four drinks or fewer.
“The loss of inhibitions, feelings of relaxation, sense of euphoria — all of those things happen at a BAC of below .08,” Rodriguez said, explaining that some effects of alcohol take place before the level of binge drinking.
Rodriguez said binge drinking occurs on campus, but not to the extent people believe.
“Our own campus research shows that we have a small percentage [18 percent] of people who binge on a regular basis,” he said. “That means the majority of students on this campus do not binge drink on a regular basis.”
He said research on campus has shown 55 percent of the student population drinks at low risk “all of the time.” One quarter of the ISU student population chooses not to drink at all.
Rodriguez said factors that may lead people to “overestimate the drinking issue” are things like the amounts of vomit, noise, damage, trouble and drunk phone calls associated with drinking.
Rob Bowers, associate director of public safety and deputy ISU police chief, said distinguishing the differences between drinking socially and binge drinking aren’t as important in the areas in which he works.
“Binge drinking in and of itself is not a crime,” Bowers said. “It may be a crime if you’re underage, it may be a crime if you drink to the level of intoxication and you’re out in public, it’s certainly a crime if you drink to the level of intoxication and go drive, but ... whether it’s your first time or tenth time in a row, from a law enforcement perspective, it really doesn’t matter.”
Being underage and drinking can lead to fines and even jail time, Bowers said.
Possession of alcohol under the legal age carries a $314 fine in surcharge and court fees for the first offense. Subsequent offenses may require more money or time in jail, depending on the case and the judge’s ruling.
Public intoxication and operating while intoxicated charges don’t have set fines for individuals. Bowers said the severity of the offense and the circumstances surrounding the charges play a role in determining the fine and the length of jail time the person may serve.
He said an example of the variation in the amount of money and time is a case of vehicular homicide in connection with a charge of operating while intoxicated. Someone who is arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated would have a smaller fine and fewer days to serve in jail than someone who kills an individual while driving drunk.
“You only absorb an ounce of alcohol per hour through your liver and so no matter how much you drink it still takes that amount of time to absorb if you had a healthy liver,” said Marilyn Polito, director of emergency services at Mary Greeley Medical Center.
Polito said fewer emergency calls had been placed by ISU students this year compared to other years. She said she didn’t have any numbers to compare year to year, but she said current economic conditions have impacted the amount of discretionary funds available to purchase alcohol.
Veishea week typically means more emergency calls, Polito said. She said additional members will be working in the emergency rooms and on the paramedic crews during Veishea week.
Bowers also said Veishea keeps law enforcement officials busy.
He said arrests may be a result of a phone call with a noise complaint or arrests may be officer-initiated. This means an officer can ask someone he or she suspects to be underage and under the influence for ID.
“Alcohol arrests in general are up over a typical weekend during a Veishea weekend,” Bowers said.
In 2008, 37 individuals were arrested due to alcohol-related charges at Veishea. In 2007, 95 alcohol-related charges were reported. In 2006, 56 of the 66 total arrests were related to the consumption of alcohol.
Bowers said the weather and the number of attendees at Veishea festivities play a role in the difference in numbers.
Through the Students 2 Students program Rodriguez coordinates, students serve as peer mentors and discuss health-related topics. Rodriguez and the students involved in the program present programs to students wherein they debunk myths about alcohol. They also provide information to students so they can talk to their friends and family members about the effects of alcohol.
“This is not us trying to use a scare tactic,” Rodriguez said. “This is us trying to have genuine conversations and being up front with students.”
He said his goal is to have students recognize the binge drinking has negative consequences.
“How do we empower the non-drinker to say: ‘You know, enough. I’m tired of broken windows, I’m tired of vomit, I’m tired of it smelling like this on my floor, I’m tired of coming into the bathroom at six in the morning on a Sunday and finding someone passed out. I’m tired of the phone call at two in the morning, I’m tired of my friend making the drunk dial. I’m tired of finding someone who’s scared of me because they’re so drunk they have no idea who the hell I am. I’m tired of not being able to buy someone a drink without them going ‘are going to have sex with me or are you trying to get me to bed?’” Rodriguez said.
ISU annual statistics
Number of arrests, offense
2008: 87 Operating while intoxicated
134 Public intoxications
286 Liquor law violations
2007: 115 Operating while intoxicated
176 Public intoxications
349 Liquor law violations
2006: 162 Operating while intoxicated
148 Public intoxications
324 Liquor law violations
— Information courtesy ISU department of public safety
Penalties
Rob Bowers: Possession of alcohol under the legal age is a $314 fine in surcharge and court fees for the first offense. Subsequent offenses may require more money or time in jail.
Public intoxication and operating while intoxicated charges don’t have set fines for individuals. The severity of the offense and the circumstances surrounding the charges play a role in determining the fine and the length of jail time the person may serve.
Criminal penalties for sales-to-minors violations
When licensees sell, give or otherwise supply an alcoholic beverage to someone under the legal drinking age, licensees may be charged and convicted in criminal court. The criminal penalty imposed by the courts is a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1,500 when the violation is committed by the licensee or $500 when the violation is committed by the licensee’s employee or agent.
Criminal penalties for minors
When a minor purchases or attempts to purchase, or has an alcoholic beverage in his or her control or possession, the minor may be charged and convicted in criminal court.
Following are the criminal penalties imposed by the courts for purchasing or attempting to purchase or controlling or possessing an alcoholic beverage:
First violation: simple misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine.
Second violation: simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500. In addition to any other applicable penalty, the person in violation shall choose between either completing a substance-abuse evaluation or the suspension of the person’s motor vehicle operating privileges for a period not to exceed one year.
Third and subsequent violations: simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 and the suspension of the person’s motor vehicle operating privileges for a period not to exceed one year.
When the violation is committed by a minor under age 18, the matter is handled by the juvenile court.
Blood-alcohol concentration
Blood-alcohol concentration is a measure used to classify a person’s degree of impairment. BAC refers to the amount of alcohol in relation to blood in the body. The more alcohol in a person’s blood, the greater the degree of impairment. Under Iowa law, a person is legally intoxicated when the blood-alcohol concentration is .08 or higher — .02 for persons under 21.
Iowa Code sections 123.49(1) and 321J.2
Blood-alcohol concentration and intoxication
An individual’s response to alcohol may vary depending upon his or her tolerance for alcohol, amount of food intake, fatigue and other factors. An individual’s driving may be impaired after only one drink.
— Information courtesy of the State of Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division
Comments
Good data presented here. Thanks for the research and work that went into this segment.