2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 25, 2002
Study shows half
of 'U' students
drink in excess
A peaceful time
NEWS IN BRIEF'~
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By Christopher Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
Binge drinking among students on
campus remains a significant prob-
lem at the University, according to a
study released today by the Sub-
stance Abuse Research Center. The
study, conducted simultaneously
with a national survey by the Har-
vard School of Public Policy, deter-
mined that 50 percent of University
students binge drink.
"Alcohol use and its adverse conse-
quences pose the most serious threat to
the intellectual, psychological and
physical development of traditional-
age undergraduates. We take this threat
to our students very seriously,"
UMSARC Director Carol Boyd said in
a written statement.
Researchers established their find-
ings based on the results of the
March 2001 Student Life Survey,
which questioned undergraduate stu-
dents about their perceptions of alco-
hol. The study defined binge drinkers
as students who drank at least four
consecutive alcoholic beverages
within a two-week period.
The study found that 86 percent of
undergraduate students at the Uni-
versity believed alcohol use presents
a significant problem on campus. It
also found an increase in binge
drinking among undergraduate
women, from 42 percent in 1999 to
51 percent in 2001.
"In the past, the high risk for
heavy episodic drinking was white
men involved in fraternities, and
thus, prevention efforts were aimed
at that group. Women were not
tended to with the same concern,"
Boyd said.
The study also found that 76 per-
cent of students who reside in fra-
ternities or sororities participated in
heavy episodic drinking during the
two weeks before they completed
the survey. The numbers reflect a
national pattern of binge drinking
among students who live in fraterni-
ties or sororities, but this proportion
has dropped significantly from the
1993 result of 83 percent.
Monica Rose, president of the
Panhellenic Association, said she
was concerned about the results of
the study and plans to use the infor-
mation for future administration of
fraternities and sororities. "We are
definitely going to use the results in
the future of the programming of
the Greek system," she said.
University Vice President for Stu-
dent Affairs E. Royster Harper also
said that this data only shows the
need for more student awareness
activities.- a
"The health and welfare of our stu-
dents is my highest priority. These Stu-
dent Life results reveal that we still
have a lot of educating to do about
high risk drinking," she said in a writ-
ten statement.
"Over the past several years,
we've initiated and reenergized pro-
grams designed to help our students
make good decisions," Harper
added. Initiatives include targeted
student prevention efforts in the fall
and the addition of an Alcohol and
Other Drug Campus Initiatives
Coordinator last fall.
The simultaneous study at Harvard
University produced similar results at a
national level, classifying 44 percent of
students as binge drinkers.
"The drinking style on campus is
still one of excess," Henry Wechsler,
director of College Alcohol Studies at
the Harvard School of Public Health,
said. "We consider this to be a serious
public health problem."
Researchers found binge drinking
decreased among Hispanic and
Native American students, but
heavy drinking patterns remained at
about 70 percent in the past decade
for students between the ages of 18
and 23 who live away from their
parents. The national study also
found a steady rise in binge drink-
ing among female students who
attend women's colleges.
"Our previous surveys found that
attending college at an all women's
school was very protective. That seems
to be less so now," Wechsler said.
Despite the results, several posi-
tive trends emerged. Fewer subjects
reported they had engaged in binge
drinking in high school, which Har-
vard's previous studies have shown
can predict drinking patterns in col-
lege. Researchers also noted a 65
percent increase in the number of
students living in substance-free
housing. Also, more students have
been exposed to edu cation materi-
als warning them against binge
drinking.
Although Wechsler would not dis-
close the statistics for any particular
states, he did say Utah colleges had
the lower rates of binge drinking
among other schools.
Music Prof. Michael Gould performs on a
the Museum of Art.
JON R mAT TDiy
Zen bamboo flute yesterday at
Encompass show
highlights diversity
Peace talks slow, 11 killed in violence
Israeli commandos backed by helicopters tracked and killed four militants who
slipped across the normally quiet border from Jordan, and six other people were
killed in Mideast violence as U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni opened a new round of
truce talks late yesterday night.
After nightfall yesterday, an Israeli was killed in a drive-by shooting near
Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank.
Palestinian militants fatally shot an Israeli woman riding a bus in the West Bank
near the Palestinian city of Ramallah yesterday morning, and Israeli troops pursuing
the attackers killed a Palestinian policeman in a gunbattle at a checkpoint nearby.
The two sides held another meeting yesterday under U.S. auspices and evident-
ly made little if any headway toward building a truce that would start Israel and
the Palestinians into preliminary peacemaking.
Vice President Dick Cheney said yesterday that Yasser Arafat has not taken
enough measures to curb Middle East violence to warrant a trip to the region for a
meeting with the Palestinian leader.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops shot and killed three Palestinians near a Jewish
settlement. The army said soldiers spotted the men crawling up to a fence sur-
rounding a group of settlements in southern Gaza and planting a bomb.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador
Bush promises trade with Central America
President Bush yesterday held out the promise of expanded trade to Central
American nations, saying countries once racked by civil war nov deserve jobs as a
reward for the way they have "changed old ways and have found new wealth and
new freedom."
Bush paid a six-hour visit here - his first ever, he said - to discuss the possi-
bilities of a Central American trade pact with Salvadoran President Francisco Flo-
res and other leaders from the region. The sessions closed out a four-day tour of
Latin America in which Bush pushed open markets, anti-terrorism efforts and
more foreign aid money for developing nations that flush out corruption.
Bush also pledged yesterday to pursue a trade agreement for all the Americas,
and promote immigration policies that would establish temporary protective status
for some immigrants whose visas have expired.
Over lunch with the leaders of El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa
Rica, Honduras and Panama, Bush said he wants to get Congress energized behind
the regional trade proposal he submitted in January, even though the matter, for now,
is "at the working level;' said White House spokesman Sean McCormack.
By Kylene Kiang
and James Ng
Daily Staff Reporters
Dances ranging from Chinese fan
dancing to Mexican salsa dancing
were only part of this year's Encom-
pass show at the Michigan Theater
Friday night, which brought together
the traditions of a wide variety of eth-
nic and cultural groups represented on
campus.
"I came to get a taste of different cul-
tures through dance and music;' Rack-
ham student and first-time Encompass
attendee Souzan Naser said.
Encompass was founded four years
ago by a group of students who noticed
a lack of interaction among the differ-
ent ethnic and cultural groups at the
University.
"The founding members wanted to
create an avenue for students of vari-
ous backgrounds to really come
together, to get to know each other
and to find common ground amidst
their differences," Encompass coor-
dinator and LSA sophomore Chris-
ten Chen said.
That avenue became the Encompass
Show, an eclectic showcase of dance,
music and songs originating from
around the world.
The theme for this year's show,
"Our Culture, Our World," was
embodied by a total of 12 perform-
ances by different groups, repre-
senting a variety of ethnicities.
. "We try to include as many differ-
ent cultures as possible in the show,"
Chen said.
The evening began with a group of
jazz dancers who set the stage for the a
capella ensemble, 58 Greene. The
singing was followed with a Persian
"We try to include
as many different
cultures as possible
in the show."
- Christine Chen
Encompass coordinator
dance which displayed a mix of tradi-
tional and modern Persian culture.
Eastern and Western dance elements
were incorporated in an act portraying
the culture of Filipino-Americans,
where students performed both the tra-
ditional Filipino dance, pandanngo sa
ilaw - or dance of light, followed by
modern hip-hop dance.
Though the dances originated in
many countries, Encompass Show par-
ticipants do not need to belong to the
ethnic group whose dance they were
performing.
"This is one way we hope to bring
together students who would not nor-
mally get the opportunity to interact
with each other due to their cultural dif-
ferences," Chen said.
Interspersed throughout the show
were video clips displaying the impor-
tance of multiculturalism in relation to
the events of Sept. 11.
"Although racism is still alive in
society, there is still hope for the future
if people make the effort to understand
and appreciate each other's unique cul-
tures," Chen said.
"It is all the more important that we
unite as one in the face of events culmi-
nating from September 11," Encom-
pass co-chair and LSA senior Alissa
Newman said.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Al-Qaida still strong
after battlefield losses
Despite battlefield losses suffered
against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan,
the al-Qaida network of Osama bin
Laden remains capable of carrying out
terrorist acts, a U.S. military spokesman
said yesterday.
Navy Cmdr. Frank Merriman, a U.S.
Central Command spokesman, said the
U.S.-led military campaign in
Afghanistan has scored significant vic-
tories against al-Qaida but that the
global terrorist organization is far from
being wiped out. Pockets of enemy
fighters are believed to be hiding in
Afghanistan and Pakistan, waiting for
the right moment to strike.
"Central Command would never say
al-Qaida and the Taliban have lost their
effectiveness," Merriman said. "They
are a worldwide organization. There
very well may be other terrorist acts in
the planning process, and our goal is to
try to disturb and eliminate as many of
those as we can."
KABUL, Afghanistan
Afghan governor asks
for release of rivals
The governor of an eastern
Afghan province demanded U.S.
Special Forces hand over several
rival Afghan allies who allegedly
opened fire yesterday on the region's
security chief, killing a bodyguard
and wounding two others before
reportedly fleeing into an American
compound.
Afghan authorities said the
assailants were believed to have
been allies of the United States and
took refuge in the Americans' forti-
fied airport compound. There was
no confirmation from U.S. forces.
The security chief of Khost
province, Sur Gul, escaped injury in
the attack, which was the latest in a
series of violent incidents in the
area involving rival Afghan groups,
according to Hazratuddin, intelli-
gence chief of Khost.
ALTO, N.M.
Fireplace ashes spark
wilfire, houses burn
I
Fireplace ashes dumped in a back
yard sparked a grass and timber wild-
fire that burned through at least 30
homes in an affluent neighborhood in
the mountains of southern New Mexi-
co, Gov. Gary Johnson said yesterday.
The governor declared a state disaster
and warned that, with continuing high
winds, the fire threat could worsen.
"The situation today is much worse
than it was yesterday," Johnson said.
At least five fires were burning in the
area yesterday One fire spread from an
Indian reservation and burned one
home, and authorities were asking resi-
dents near the town of Hondo to evacu-
ate as a precaution. Earlier, state police
had said 200 people were told to leave.
No one has been injured in the fires,
but strong wind gusts as high as 50
mph continued to spread the flames.
- Compiled from Daily wire reports.
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Current students discuss their
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When: 6-8 p.m., Thursday,
March 28, 2002
Where: Room 1544, C.C. Little
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between Church and Fletcher
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History
4
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