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Oregon daily _ _
emerald
Tuesday, September 28, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 84. Number 18
University enrollment plummets
By Debbie Howlett
Of th« Emerald
The University's registrar released
preliminary figures Monday that indicate
a 9-percent drop in enrollment for fall
term
At this time last year. 14,916 students
had registered This year 13.567
students filed registration packets at the
two-day registration last Thursday and
Friday, a decrease of nearly 1.400
While the admissions office anticipat
ed a decline of 6 percent, admissions
director Jim Buch says his office as well
as the registrar's office are hoping more
students will enroll either before Wed
nesday. which is the last day to pay
tuition without a late fine, or before the
final registration deadline on Oct 8
We were expecting to see a drop in
enrollment for several reasons, Buch
said "We raised admission standards for
in-state freshman from a 2 5 high school
grade point average to 2.75 In addition,
the number of students graduating from
Oregon high schools last year was the
lowest since 1966 "
A total of 30.400 high school students
graduated last year compared with
31.339 in 1981 and 30.176 in 1966
Buch says it is still too early for a clear
interpretation of exactly which reasons
account for the decline, but he estimated
that about one-third of the difference
may have been caused by the decrease
in the number of high school graduates
and two-thirds through the change in
admissions requirements
Buch, along with University Registrar
Wanda Johnson, also cited the poor
state of the economy as having an effect
on the decision to attend college
"It may be that fewer students are
choosing to go to college at all. and a
good number apparently are deciding to
go to community colleges, which have
lower tuition costs," Johnson said
The real unknown is the economy,"
Buch said, adding that Lane Community
College is experiencing an increase in
the number of students enrolled in
courses that can be transferred to a
four-year public institution
Perhaps the most meaningful aspect
of the decline in registration will be the
fate of four University "extension" pro
grams
After the legislature s special session
last June, and a subsequent order to cut
$500,000 from the University s budget,
University Pres Paul Olum proposed the
elimination of the Bureau of Govern
mental Reasearch, the Learning and
Education Resource Center the Oregon
Institute of Marine Biology, and Univer
sity radio station KWAX
Olum put that decision on hold at the
request of Chancellor Bud Davis, to de
termine whether enrollment figures
would allow the continuation of the pro
grams
Olum was unavailable for comment
today on the effect of the registration
figures Davis and University Provost
Richard Hill were also unavailable for
comment
However, one University official says
any decision about eliminating the four
programs, based on the preliminary
figures, is likley to be premature and a
decision will probably be made after final
registration figures are announced the
fourth week of fall term
Additionally, the decision is based on
enrollment at all eight institutions in the
state system and not solely at the
University
The official said similar enrollment
declines are apparently being
experienced at other colleges and un
iversities in the state system
Studying
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hite males who live in a fraternity,
have less than a 3.0 grade point aver
age, come from a well-off family and
have no strong religious ties may have
another characteristic in common —
heavy drinking
At least that’s the conclusion of a study of 490
University students conducted last spring by sociology
professor Patty Gwartney-Gibbs
Heavy drinkers probably have some, but not all, of
these characteristics, Gwartney-Gibbs says
The mailed-in survey responses indicate “large
and significant” differences in the drinking patterns of
male and female students.
Some 10 6 percent of the males averaged between
1 5 and 7 2 drinks per day and had 12 or more drinks on
at least one day in the month before the survey Only 1.6
percent of the women surveyed drank similar amounts
However, men also were found more likely to be
nondrinkers Eight percent of the students sampled
were nondrinkers and 55 percent of those were male.
The study notes that grade point average is “cor
related strongly and negatively with alcohol consump
tion.”
Students with C averages drink more heavily than B
or A average students, but the survey also reports those
with the best and worst grades are equally likely to be
nondrinkers.
The study also supports the •'myth'' of heavy
drinking in Greek residences.
Of those living in sororities and fraternities, only 2.4
percent had not had a drink in the month prior to the
survey That compares to 21 percent of students living
in dorms, 18 percent of students living with parents and
14 percent of those living off campus.
“One peculiar finding concerned the availability of
alcohol to women in sororities Over one-third said they
never had alcohol on hand and about two-thirds said
they never or rarely did, yet sorority women are heavier
drinkers than women in other living situations,” Gwart
ney-Gibbs says.
A family’s financial status also had a bearing on
drinking patterns.
The students from families whose parents made
more than $50,000 per year drank about one-third of a
drink more a day than those whose parents made less
Religious beliefs also were associated with alcohol
use
Those with the strongest beliefs were least likely to
be heavy drinkers, the study stiowed. For example, in
the week prior to the survey, students with strong
religious feelings drank about half as much as those
with no religious beliefs.
Survey results showed drinking had little correla
tion with ethnic background, employment status, mari
tal status, age, year in school or level of happiness.
The survey also tested general and legal know
ledge about alcohol consumption to test the need for an
alcohol information service.
"Students are relatively well informed — probably
because of the required health education — except in
the legal area, which could be because the laws were
recently changed," Gwartney-Gibbs says
In the legal area, about 45 percent of the students
were "not sure" about certain laws, and laws regarding
drunk driving were the least known.
Heavy drinkers know a lot more about the effects of
alcohol than light or moderate drinkers, Gwartney
Gibbs says.
An intervention program to prevent potential or
actual alcohol abuse may be more useful than an
informational program, she says. But informational
sessions still are important for students who aren’t
heavy drinkers
Gwartney-Gibbs is developing a program based on
the study Although she is waiting for approval of a
grant proposal, she says the program could get going
by the middle of winter term