Study links alcohol with class absences

The Boston College Eagles saw a miraculous turn of events of last-minute prowess when they overcame No. 8 Virginia Tech, reinforcing the superiority of BC football.

Quarterback Matt Ryan, in an adrenaline-fueled ecstasy, tackled coach Jeff Jagodzinski while BC students also celebrated the team's victory. The question remained, however, how responsible were BC students during their celebrations on that Thursday night and how were their Friday studies affected?

Legal and university-endorsed sanctions aside, there is no question about the presence of alcohol in the housing of BC students. As with most universities, many BC students do drink, regardless of their age. The notion of alcohol abuse, however, is not taken lightly by BC's Office of Residential Life and the Office of the Dean for Student Development.

Focusing on weekday drinking, a recent University of Missouri-Columbia study has concluded that many students who drink on weekdays are likely to miss scheduled Friday classes. The study also said that if students are not scheduled for Friday classes, they drink "approximately twice as much on Thursdays as students with early Friday classes." Likewise, the study suggested that not drinking on Thursday does not necessarily compel students to drink more on Fridays in an effort to "catch up."

To combat excessive Thursday night drinking, Phillip K. Wood, one of the study's authors and a professor at the University of Missouri, suggested that universities force students to enroll in early classes (before 10 a.m.) on Fridays. He also argues that universities should have Saturday classes to further limit the appeal of binge and excessive drinking.

In the study Phillip said, "Having more Friday classes, early Friday classes, or tests on Friday seem to be a pretty cost-effective way of reducing college drinking. Essentially, your academic class schedule starts to interfere with that drinking behavior."

BC has not yet implemented restraints similar to Phillip's proposition on student scheduling.

With the rise in the consumption of alcohol at BC, it is no surprise that concerns about when students are drinking have arisen. Only about one-fourth of BC undergraduate students of legal drinking age, however, the focus for the ODSD is on stopping underage alcohol consumption rather than merely creating programs to discourage students from drinking on weekday nights. But given the availability of alcohol, many efforts have had little effect on the prevention of partying.

Regardless of how few deterrents are in place, many students decide not to party on weekdays. "I know a lot of people who do party on weekdays, but there are more than enough of us who choose not to," said Kevin Kerrigan, CSOM '11. For many students, there is an obligation to stay party-free, with or without alcohol, during the weekdays. "We can have fun on the weekends, but we should keep our weekdays to studying. BC certainly isn't cheap, so we shouldn't mess it up by doing something like that," Kerrigan said.

The Office of Residential Life certainly does not condone the use of any alcoholic substance while being an undergraduate or graduate student at BC, especially when one is under the legal drinking age. Students violating the University's policies are subject to disciplinary action and, depending on the severity of the violation, reported to local authorities for arrest and criminal charges.

The BC Student Guide explicitly states, "The Boston College community will not tolerate violations of this nature and will not shield its students from just and appropriate consequences for their illegal actions."

Differing from some institutions that completely ignore the presence of alcohol on campus, BC's policies and violations, while not always adamantly enforced, are meant to protect the student community. With programs such as AlcoholEdu for incoming freshmen, BC students are given tools to make responsible decisions about how to celebrate and relax. If a student's decisions do not meet the expected community standards put forth by BC, he or she will be dealt with appropriately by either a school-sanctioned judicial committee or the local authorities.