Newspaper Page Text
Student Drinking
Alcohol Rises in Popularity Among Youth
With Increased Availability, Legality
(Editor's Note: This Is the
second in a series of articles
concerning the abuse of con
sciousness altering substances.
Last week's story dealt with
drugs. Both articles are by
Debra Newell.)
Rush parties, victory
celebrations, theatrical opening
nights, and fraternity houses
are all an integral part of the
college scene, suggesting that
when one goes away to college
he learns more than math and
English. Synonymous with
campus life, especially since
the age for buying alcoholic
beverages has been lowered to
18, is drinking.
At West Georgia, the con
sumption of alcoholic
beverages is permitted in
rooms leased by students in
residence halls, when
authorized at social functions in
residence halls, in the Food
Service Center, and in Love
Valley.
Does this pastime often go
beyond mere pleasure into
addiction?
According to Dr. Gerald Hall,
director of the student
development center, theanswer
to this question is an emphatic
yes.
"We often deal with students
whose alcoholism either causes
other problems or who have
other problems which en
courage this addiction," he
said.
Because of its availability
which does not include the
threats of jail surrounding some
substances, many high school
and college students are turning
to alcohol.
According to Dr. Morris E.
Chafetz, director of the
National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism, "Only 40
per cent of senior high school
boys and 36 per cent of senior
high school girls reported
having ever used marijuana,
the second ranked drug. But 93
per cent of high school senior
boys and 87 per cent of high
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school senior girls have had a
drink."
Mirroring this trend are in
creases in youthful alcoholism.
Reports by a special task
force on the issue state that one
of 20 young Americans is
struggling with a drinking
problem and drinking has in
creased so rapidly among
teenagers in the last four years
that it is now considered almost
universal among them.
Dr. Frank Seixas, medical
director of the National Council
Alcoholism, reports that when
students are asked when they
took their first drink, the age
now given predominantly is 11.
Formerly it was 14.
In contrast to some other
social problems, alcohol abuse
occurs in a higher proportion
among educated and affluent
families than among the poor.
The NIAAA reports that
among people of various ages,
the proportion of heavy
drinkers goes up from six per
cent of people with grammar
school educations to 15 per cent
of college graduates. People
with less than an eighth grade
education show the highest
proportion of abstainers.
"The results of surveys
among adolescents agree with
this Hnding," said Chafetz.
Hundreds of country and
western songs and thousands of
situation comedies depict
drinking as a solvent for all
human sorrows.
This universal view manifests
itself at an early age. Studies
have shown that teen agers who
have unhappy home lives,
problems at school, or are
under pressure often become
problem drinkers.
Alcohol seems to have a
mystical lure. Chafetz observes
that, “We have no formal rites
of passage to adulthood, no
ceremony that says in effect,
you are fully grown."
Masculinity, then, is found in
chug-a-lugs and hang overs.
Unlike driving or many other
‘adult games,’ there is no
preparation for one’s entrance
into the drinking culture.
Asa result, says Chafetz,
many people do not realize the
depth of their addiction and
need.
What are the signs of
alcoholism? Blackouts, lapses
of memory concerning what
occurred while drinking, are
one indication. Another is a
made desire, a feeling of "I
have to have a drink." A
defensive attitude about
drinking is also a signal.
Studies all point to parents as
the most important factor in
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shaping their children's
drinking habits.
Chafetz points out that in
cultures where moderate
drinking in a relaxed way is a
natural part of approved family
and social situations, alcohol
does not usually cause major
problems.
But the children of parents
who are problem drinkers and
those of parents who forbid
drinking as evil, are both more
likely to develop drinking
problems at some time in their
lives.
There are ways to cure
alcoholism. Guilt inducing
ploys by relatives are not one of
them.
A better approach, according
to Chafetz, is to say, in effect,
“You’re in trouble, I care about
you. I want to help you."
Several local groups work
toward dealing with this
problem. Alcoholics
Anonymous meets every
Friday at 8 p.m. at the Catholic
Church of Our Lady off the
Temple Road, Highway 166.
Information concerning this
group or other related aspects
may be obtained by writing
P.0.80x 393, Carrollton, or
calling 834-8925 or 834-8664.
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