New Orleans is world-renowned for its party atmosphere and abundance of alcohol. However, contrary to the expression “laissez les bon temps rouler,” many students are forced to find balance between their studies, the nightly bar specials and liberal residence hall policies.
According to a survey conducted in spring of 2004 by Core Institute, a non-profit organization, 54 percent of Loyola students are binge drinkers. For males, binge drinking is consuming five or more alcoholic beverages in one sitting; for females, four or more.
Core Institute mains purpose is to help higher education, universities and colleges, in drug and alcohol efforts.
Vida Petronis, staff counselor and the substance abuse prevention coordinator at Counseling and Career, explained the results of the study represent all campuses nationwide. According to Petronis, the survey is reliable because it was anonymous, and therefore students’ answers had no repercussions. It has yielded consistent data for the past 10 years, she said.
In an informal survey of 50 Loyola students conducted by The Maroon during the week of Oct. 4, 82 percent admitted that on average they binge drink at least once a week, while 4 percent admitted that they would have responded yes during the past year but have recently cut back. Many of the students questioned if four or five drinks really merited “binge drinking.”
“I think we are a binge drinking school,” said Heather O’Brien, music business senior.
According to a recent study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1,400 college students die each year due to alcohol. There are also 500,000 injuries, 600,000 assaults and 70,000 sexual assaults – all alcohol-related.
“College students are going to drink,” Petronis said. Petronis focuses on making sure students understand the dangers of binge drinking. She stressed both sexual and physical assault as potential dangers while drinking.
Another problem Petronis noted is that students may not always know if they are binge drinking, especially at fraternity parties.
“The real danger in those types of parties is that students vastly underestimate the amount of alcohol in a mixed punch or drink,” Petronis said.
Communications senior and Biever Hall Senior Resident Assistant Charles Ezeb said that Residential Life tries to teach students to be responsible when they drink.
“We can’t stop them,” Ezeb said, “but when you go out there, you need to know your limitations. Every student at this university is an adult. No one is holding their hands…all [Residential Life] can do is educate them,” he said.
Loyola has been ranked nationally for the abundance of alcohol. The 2004 Princeton Review ranked Loyola sixth in the nation in the “Lots of Hard Alcohol” category. However, some students said that alcohol availability, not students’ tendencies to drink more than average, led to the ranking.
“It’s not the school that’s conducive to [drinking], it’s the city,” Meghan Petchel, communications junior, said.
“When you decide to come to school in New Orleans, you know what you are getting yourself into,” added Liza Cantu, communications freshman.
Petronis agreed that New Orleans has the reputation of being a good-time city, but stressed that individual students need to act responsibly.
“We are training students to be adults and make smart decisions,” she said.
Adam Hennessey can be reached at [email protected].
