Authorities crack down on campus drinking culture, 'alcoholidays'

As the new semester is well underway, students and administrators across the country have reopened the debate surrounding the national drinking age. While the topic is slowly picking up steam, authorities across the state are making a statement of their own.

According to a recent report by The Boston Globe, the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) has been operating in cooperation with local law enforcement and state investigators to crack down on underage drinking.

On Sept. 4, investigators confronted 56 minors in possession of alcohol, as well as 33 people who bought or attempted to buy alcohol for minors, and six people with fake identification. Among those from whom alcohol was confiscated were several Boston College students, as well as other Boston-area students, the report said.

"Our objective is to prevent [underage students] from obtaining that alcohol," said Ted Mahoney, chief investigator for the ABCC, as reported by The Boston Globe. "We want to prevent some of the tragedies we see."

While the ABCC Enhanced Liquor Enforcement Programs such as "Operation Safe Campus" aim to curtail a growing cultural trend of binge drinking at area universities, administrators are left to contend with the ones who slip through the cracks.

"The issues Boston College faces are the same at colleges and universities nationwide," said Vice President of Student Affairs Patrick Rombalski. "Statistically, schools with fraternities and sororities, schools in the Northeast, and schools with prominent athletic programs typically have higher binge -drinking rates. So we have to remain vigilant in our efforts to educate our students on responsible behavior."

Rombalski said that recent research indicates that the rate of drinking on college campuses varies throughout the year, with a higher prevalence at both the start and end of the academic year, as well as during holidays and special events - dubbed "alcoholidays" by the experts. Researchers point to traditional holidays such as Halloween that have lost all meaning and are now relegated to status as "drinking holidays."

"Research and experience confirm that college students, including BC students, consume more alcohol on game days and other 'alcoholidays' and experience more negative consequences from increased consumption during these special events," Rombalski said. "We typically see an increase in judicial cases and infirmary placements. Like all colleges and universities in the United States, however, student drinking is a concern on any given weekend of the year, not just at games and on holidays or special events.

"Our philosophy of prevention, the extensive programs and services we offer, and our alcohol policies and enforcement strategies address all underage and high-risk alcohol consumption by students, not just the behaviors and consequences we see on game days and special events."

With football season in full swing and the Roots concert this Friday, Chris Denice, Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) president and CSOM '09, said that in organizing on-campus events, the prevalence of alcohol abuse is "definitely something we are very conscious of."

"The first concern is always that students are coming in safe and are not in the position that they will be hurting themselves or hurting others," Denice said.

With a marquee home football schedule featuring match-ups against Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Notre Dame, the newly introduced drug and alcohol sanctions will be put to the test. It remains to be seen, however, whether they will have any impact on students' drinking habits. According to the Center for Disease Control, 90 percent of all alcohol consumed by people under 21 is in the form of binge drinking, with the number of college students driving under the influence climbing by half a million from 1998 to 2001, with 1,700 deaths during that span.

The BC Police Department along with residence hall staff will be a strong presence throughout the year at major events hosted on campus, but Senior Associate Dean of Student Development Paul Chebator stresses that that's not enough.

"Anytime we look at this issue - it's not just enforcement or education or prevention, but all of those elements. I think it's important for students to understand that they themselves think this is a problem at Boston College," Chebator said.

The numbers don't lie. In a survey of student life at BC conducted two years ago, over 87 percent of the respondents indicated that they believed alcohol was to some degree a problem at BC, Chebator said.

"I think it's a conversation that is very valuable, and perhaps out of the conversation we'll come up with better ideas to address the situation," he said.

Chebator looks at the problem as being one of popular culture and the glorification of alcohol use through the media, pointing to more recent trends such as "pregaming" to exemplify the changing trends on college campuses.

"It's a relatively recent phenomenon," Chebator said. "There's this sense that 'yeah let's all get together before the event' - whether it's a dance or a cruise or a [football] game."

This year, Denice said that the UGBC has been working closely with the newly created Student Programming Office (SPO) to incorporate several new events, with ideas ranging from a BC-wide comedy show to laser tag to additional musical performances. The SPO, formerly operating within the Office of the Dean of Student Development (ODSD), is sponsoring Student Activities Day in the Dustbowl this Friday, as well as overseeing late-night, weekend programming, and Nights on the Heights.

"There's a lot more out there than you realize, and once you start to get your hands on that, your experience at BC will be much more enhanced," Denice said.