4 6C - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Tuesday, September 3, 2002 RHA ban goes up in smoke by just one vote By Maria Sprow Daily Staff Reporter The Residence Hall Association came one vote short of passing a resolution Jan. 24 in favor of making all residence halls smoke-free within the next two years. The resolution was written by Kinesiology freshman and West Quad resident Pete Woiwode after University Housing officials asked RHA members to gather infor- mation from students living in residence halls and sub- mit an opinion for or against a smoking ban. It cited health and safety risks along with destruction to University property as its top reasons for wanting to ban smoking. To date, nine out of 11 schools in the Big Ten have banned smoking from their residence halls. The resolution, first submitted to RHA at the January meeting, stated that support of smoking and smokers by the University "considerably reduces our right to claim academic and intellectual excellence, for smoking is in direct conflict with any rational or progressive thought." The resolution included an amendment to reinforce existing policies which do not permit students to smoke next to exterior doorways and the removal or transporta- tion of ashtrays from doorways. Had the resolution been passed, the residence halls it could have affected are Vera Baits, Bursley, Cambridge, Couzens, East Quad, West Quad, Fletcher, Alice Lloyd, Mary Markley, Oxford Housing and South Quad:. Betsy Barbour, Mosher Jordan, Helen Newberry, Stockwell and Martha Cook residence halls are already designated as smoke-free. Though a majority of the present RHA members voted for the ban, a two-thirds majority was needed. In the final vote, 11 members were for the ban, 4 were opposed and 2 abstained. Twelve votes in favor of the resolution were needed for it to pass. Some students against the resolution said they felt banning smoking in the residence halls infringed upon student's individual rights. "I am completely, 100 percent, against (the resolu- tion)," said Fletcher resident Jeff Souva, an LSA sopho- more, during the debate. "I feel that the University of Michigan has a long history of personal rights. U of M should support ,personal rights like it has in the past. I feel that we are totally infringing upon their rights in doing this." But students for the amendment said students' health should come before smoking privileges. In the end, RHA President Tim Winslow, an engineer- ing junior and resident of Baits house, said the two members who chose to abstain from voting were respon- sible for the bill's failure. LSA junior Carrie Rheingans said she abstained from voting because she felt members didn't have enough time to talk to the students they represent to see if resi- dents were for or against the ban. "I abstained because my hall hasn't given an official position," Rheingans said. Although the first resolution failed, many RHA members said they were in favor of a similar resolu- tion. Others said the resolution had not been put to rest and would be a reoccurring theme in upcoming weeks. "It's going to come back," said music sophomore and Alice Lloyd resident Anup Aurora, who said he is against banning all smoking in residence halls. "I do think it should be controlled. The University is based on freedom of choice. If we take smoking away from students, that goes against what the University stands for." Regardless of whether RHA passes a resolution for or against smoking in residence halls, the final decision does not rest on their hands. University Housing has the final say. I 4 LESLIE WARD/Daily Luis Figueroa, left, and Lucas Lopatin, both LSA sophomores, lived in one of East Quad's smoking rooms last year and were worried about the possible ban on smoking in residence halls. I Administrators try to combat binge drinking, prevent deaths By Lizzie Ehrie Daily Staff Reporter While educators across the country continue to examine student lifestyles in a search for ways to decrease binge drinking rates among college students, some believe the root of the problem may stem from broad,.cultural ideolo- gies and not just the influences of a college campus. "One theory is that as a society we don't teach our young people to drink responsibly," said Carol Boyd, director of the University Substance Abuse Research Cen- ter. "No one taught responsible drinking in high school," graduated senior Matthew Liston said. Patrice Flax, an alcohol initiatives coordinator from University Health Services, said the prevalence of alcohol in the media helps students form certain atti- tudes and values about the issue of alcohol. IC "We see it so much we don't think about its any more," she said. | Daniel Pak, University director of special 9 projects, said the University's attempts to decrease binge drinking from the formation of special commissions to investigative reports have not been successful. "Unfortunately, we have not seen the effects of those efforts. There is no evidence that binge drinking has decreased. In fact, there is evidence that it has increased," he said. Pak said that following alcohol-related deaths of two Korean students since 1997, one area of specific concern is the drinking habits of ethnic-minority students. "The research is so lacking that we have no idea what's going on," Pak said. "The lack of a multicultural approach to research may have contributed to the fact that we haven't had an effect on students." Pak called for future ethnic-specific research to provide effective policies and services. LSA junior Daniel Reiger, leader of Pro- moting Alcohol Responsibility Through You, a student group that promotes alcohol responsibility on campus, recognizes how overarching cultural expectations make binge drinking difficult to combat. "I'm not sure there's anything concrete to attack," he said. P.A.R.T.Y. was founded last semester with the goal of tackling alcohol issues in the most integrated way possi- ble, Reiger said. The group's first initiative was to mail birthday cards to University students on their 21st birthdays. The cards read, "Remember, a toast to your future is worth nothing if you're not here to enjoy it," and ask students to cele- brate responsibly. The mailings began in the third week of this semester, Reiger said. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed, but it was not being addressed how it should be," he said, suggesting that initiatives taken from the perspective of students may be more effective in promoting responsible drinking. P.A.R.T.Y is the first student-run organization that focuses on alcohol issues on campus. While some students believe that any message is more effective when it comes from peers, some disagree. "If I got this card in the mail, I wouldn't think twice about it at the bar," Liston said. "I think that if students are going to control students, it would have to be your friends." In recent years, several universities have started social norms marketing - advertising campaigns that provide students with accurate information about how many stu- dents drink alcohol and how much they drink. "Students' perceptions of other students' drinking behavior is often higher than what actually goes on, and that may make them more likely to drink more," Pak said. Some administrators believe spreading awareness that not all students engage in frequent binges might cause some to drink less. The University began social norms marketing in 1995, but stopped this initiative in 1999 when it became part of the Social Norms Marketing Research Project - a five- year nationwide study evaluating the effectiveness of these marketing campaigns on 32 college campuses, said Marsha Benz, UHS health and education coordinator. The study, administered by the Boston-based Education Development Center, includes the University as part of a control group that must abstain from any form of social norms marketing. The University has been matched with a similar, undis- closed school that is part of the intervention group and currently utilizing social norms marketing on its campus. The effectiveness of these marketing strategies will be measured by comparing schools within the two groups after the study is completed. "I'd prefer to be part of the intervention, but even as part of the control group we're going to have access to a lot of different things we wouldn't have otherwise," Benz said. Drinking viewed as accepted part of collegiate atmosphere By Uzzle Ehrle Daily Staff Reporter Any student passing through four years of college inevitably will be faced with social settings centered around alcohol. For many, drinking beer and downing shots can become as much a part of their college experience as writing papers and taking exams. Most students see alcohol as an inherent part of college life, no matter how much they chose to drink. "I don't think it's a matter of choice," graduated senior Matt Biersack said. "You'll be surrounded by it regardless of whether you drink or not." "There is talk almost every weekend about what party everyone is going to, and how wasted someone is going to get," LSA senior Amy Ament said. Out of all University undergraduate students, 45 percent engage in binge drinking, according to an Internet- based Student Life Survey adminis- tered by the University's Substance Abuse Research Center in 1999. Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks for females and five or more for males in one sitting - a measure that is widely used and nationally accepted. "Be it to the bar, to someone's house, or to your own house, I feel like alco- hol is part of the culture of college. It is so ingrained in all of our social set- tings," Biersack said. The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study - an ongoing survey of more than 14,000 college students - reports that the national rate of binge drinkers (44 per- cent of students) has remained the same since 1993. Binge drinking becomes a concern because it tends to signal that alcohol- related problems are ahead. Such sec- ondary effects range from health or legal problems to missing class or doing poorly on a test. According to the Student Life Sur- vey, as binge drinking episodes increase for students, their grades decrease. Three out of four binge drinkers rprnvtpA miecina clasc ithin the nast UMVIDRNDUU/Dly LSA junior Chris Perry (left) tries on a pair of beer goggles, which simulate a person's vision after having anywhere between three to eight drinks in an hour. from big tests and get all messed up," said LSA sophomore Scott Caesar, emphasizing the enhanced freedom freshmen feel upon leaving home for the first time. "The social environment of college and the high stress of academics pro- mote an atmosphere of heavy drink- ing," graduated senior G.J. Zann said. Marsha Benz, a health education coordinator with University Health Services, agrees that the stress of school can affect alcohol consumption but also considers student expectations of a new social environment as an influential factor. "There are a lot of expectations people come with, and oftentimes expectations make people act a different way," she said. Regardless of expectations, some students believe there are subtle pres- sures within college life regarding alcohol. "I think many people, whether they'll admit it or not, want to fit in and be a part of something," Biersack said. "Rather than making a decision to start drinking excessively, they can get caught up in a cycle." Accordino to the Stuident Life Sur- she said. Other Big Ten universities have looked at bar specials as a possible cause of binge drinking and have thus tried to limit these promotions. Such specials as $1 pitchers and two-for-one drinks can be seen as creating an envi- ronment conducive to heavy drinking. "What the data is showing on other campuses is that when the availability to alcohol is hindered by increasing the price, then drinking rates go down," said Patrice Flax, an alcohol initiatives coordinator with UHS. But University administrators are hesitant to implement policies here as they keep in mind possible unintended consequences of such policies. Carol Boyd, director of the Sub- stance Abuse Research Center, expressed concern that if special drink prices are restricted on campus, stu- dents may drive to neighboring cities for better prices, thus increasing the dangers of drinking and driving. "Before we institute any policy or even make recommendations to local businesses on our campus, we must evaluate the goal of the proposed chane and how that change will eet A a.