AWARENESS WEEK TARGETS SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Alcohol-awareness posters decorate the cramped office at Southeast Missouri State University from which Phyllis Schnell wages a constant battle against substance abuse.

As coordinator of Substance Abuse Prevention and Education at Southeast, Schnell's part-time job places her in the trenches in the battle against drug and alcohol abuse.

It's a never-ending battle, particularly in terms of alcohol abuse. "It's like holding back the ocean," she said.

For many college students at Southeast, as at most colleges and universities nationwide, drinking is a way of life.

This week, Southeast students have an opportunity to participate in "DAWG Days of October" activities on the campus in observance of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week. DAWG is an acronym for Drug and Alcohol Wellness Group.

Schnell says she's realistic enough to know that students will continue to drink. "I try not to come off as a prohibitionist."

Her job, she explains, is to encourage students to practice responsible drinking.

"Just going and getting wasted is a very dangerous thing to do," said Schnell.

Numerous national statistics underscore Schnell's comment.

It's estimated between 240,000 and 360,000 of the current 12 million college students nationwide will eventually die of alcohol-related causes equivalent to the entire undergraduate student body of all Big 10 schools unless students become better informed about the consequences of alcohol and drug abuse.

Twelve million college students consume 430 million gallons of alcoholic beverages annually.

The typical student will spend more money for alcoholic beverages than for textbooks.

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

An estimated 80 percent of all campus vandalism is alcohol related.

Eighty percent of students 21 years of age and younger report playing drinking games.

A college freshman who becomes sold on one brand may produce over $15,000 in beer sales for that brand over the student's lifetime.

College administrators say alcohol is a factor in 40.8 percent of all academic problems.

Eleven percent of college drinkers report missing classes because of drinking.

Schnell said alcohol affects a person's abstract thinking, which clearly has an impact on a student's academic endeavors.

Many university students fit into the 16-25 age group, which faces enormous pressure to use alcohol and drugs, Schnell said.

In a 1991 survey of 313 undergraduates at Southeast, 45 percent admitted that consumption of alcohol had caused them to drive unsafely; 41 percent reported that under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they engaged in sexual activity with individuals that they otherwise would not have had sex with; 20 percent said they had gotten into trouble with the law while under the influence and 23 percent said they had gotten into fights.

According to the survey: 12 percent of the students admitted that drinking caused them to miss class at least once a week; 47 percent reported using marijuana/hashish at least once; and 11 percent reported trying cocaine at least once.

Schnell said that with the AIDS problem, getting drunk and engaging in indiscriminate sex can be dangerous. "Is it ever safe to get drunk? Is it ever safe to crawl into bed with an HIV-positive person?"

Schnell said drinking and driving can lead to deadly accidents. She said many students frequent bars across the river in Illinois and then return home drunk, driving across the narrow Mississippi River Bridge. "I'm surprised we haven't had more fatalities," she remarked.

Many students get violent when they drink.

"Our students are typically binge drinkers," said Schnell, noting that such students often drink four or five nights a week.

"The big nights are Thursday, Friday and Saturday," she pointed out.

Forty-two percent of college students surveyed in a recent national study said they engaged in binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting.

The study involved 56,361 students at 78 colleges. It was conducted by researchers at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and the College of William and Mary.

Nationally, people have been encouraged to "just say no" to substance abuse. "But 93 percent of our students have already said yes by the time they get here," said Schnell, citing results from Southeast's survey.

Most students, said Schnell, probably don't go out to get drunk. "Probably the majority of them, that's not what they start out to do," she said. "But it's usually the end result."

She said it's particularly a problem with freshmen and sophomores, who view drinking as a "rite of passage."

"What they are doing is very, very dangerous," said Schnell.

A former nurse at the campus clinic, Schnell said clinic personnel have seen drunken students who have injured themselves, as well as victims of date rapes and drunken brawls.

"We saw students who had fallen out of their lofts because they were too drunk to get down the ladder," she said.

"Alcohol is a factor in date rapes," said Schnell.

"I really target the drinking games a lot," she pointed out. "When they are cheering someone on in a drinking game, they are really encouraging someone to overdose."

Part of the problem in combating alcohol abuse is the mixed message students receive in a society where drinking is glorified in advertising on the one hand, and, on the other hand, information is put out on alcohol abuse, said Schnell.

"Any time society gives a mixed message, people get confused," she said.

"I think our job is a big one," she added. "Our challenge is to try to change that social norm."