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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1995)
EDITORIAL Education key for college drinkers For decades. drinking has been a glorified part of the "college experience.” Older generations brag about get ting looped before the big Friday night dance. Movies such as Animal Haase portray college students as care free hour guzzlers. Is drinking on college campuses out of control? This week the Emerald and local television station KE/A are examining binge drinking at the University and at other college campuses around the nation. People who drink five or more drinks at one sitting within a two-week period are considered binge drinkers. Thu good news is that binge drinking at this University is less common than at other colleges. However, binge drinking is still a serious problem here, and students need to understand the dangers associat ed with drinking. According to a study conducted by Columbia University. 50 percent of Columbia students are binge drinkers. Am swrve\. < undo! ted at 1 he said Imuid that 44 percent of 17,952 students on campuses nation wide are reported to bo binge drinkers, At the University of Oregon. 4 1 percent of 686 students polled in winter term of 1994 qualified as binge drinkers These statistics may not be alarming to those who view alcohol consumption as a net ossify for the college sot lal life It would bo encouraging to some to think that the other 69 percent of University students aren’t heavy drinkers. However, it is important to understand that these numbers only account for the people who consume five or more drinks at one sitting Some college age drinkers, especially women, can get intoxicated with only three or four drinks. Although they may be getting drunk regularly, they aren’t considered in the binge drinking category. Nonetheless, they may still have a drinking problem and should not he ox< hided Drinking problems among college students are proba bly more serious than what these surveys indicate. Different people require different amounts of alcohol to get drunk, so the amount a person drinks is not a good indicator. More effective surveys might analyze blood alcohol levels of college students, but the practicality of such a study remains in doubt Along with the health problems associated with excess drinking, college students need to 1m< aware of how drinking affects behaviors. According to the Columbia survey, 90 percent of campus rapes involved alcohol and no percent of sexually transmitted diseases are contracted while under the influence of alcohol. According to the Harvard survey, binge drinkers were 7 to 10 times more likely to have unplanned sex. These statistics should bo alarming to all college stu dents who consume alcohol — not just those who can slam Five drinks at a time. Anyone who drinks needs to be educated about the serious consequences of drinking. 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' ■ COMMENTARY Athletes deserve better treatment Camara Jones and Rose Imbnano My name is Camara |Din?s and I am a stu dent athlete here ai the University I am a member of the track team ami have been for five years. As a result of my athletic endeavors I have come in con tact and in many i ases become friends with many student ath letes at the llniversitv Through out my career here at Oregon 1 have i ullivnted some wonderful relationships with people whose identities have been shattered 1mm ause of your pajier The article printed on the front page of the Oregon Daily Enwrala (April 2-4-25) about athletes disturbed me for many reasons As a law-school-bound inter national studies and Spanish major. I feel that I have the knowledge to identify • ln/v effort and lack of ethics in the journalism field. Joe Harwood's story on ath letes which targeted football players was an insult to every collegiate athlete on this cam pus Ac cording to Harwood, this story was a result of five months of investigation. If this is true, then why was only one side represented? Harwood might count Coach Hellotti's quotes as a representation of the student athletes, hut obvi ously he needed to keep dig ging At one point in ins article Harwood concluded that the claims were unsubstantiated, but he continuously repeated the allegations, using athletes’ names As a result, he degraded specifu athletes and the colle giate athletic population at the University. It would have l>een beneficial to myself and other renders if Harwood had included in his investigation a control group Now, everyday peo ple will h antler or assume that I or myfel lost athletes are crimi nals that receive spe eial treatment. such as the general population of University students 1 myself would like to know what per cent of the University popula tion lias been involved in activ ities such as these In addition, what percentage of Lane County cases are dropped before going to trial? II tills wa« ' five-moil til investigation, then why were there only limited soon es from the athletic department' Better yet. why weren't anv of the football players contacted for comment ? 1 understand that as a student athlete we're put in the spot light As a matter of fat t. as chairperson for Team Council, 1 have spoken to incoming fresh men on these matters. At the same time, we are col lege students who make mis takes Being a minority student on this campus I have already boon put m one bov Many stu dent athletes are identified as just athletes by their size and possibly their color. 1 can't count the number of times l have been asked if I am a basketball player because of my skin color Now , every day people will wonder or assume that I or my fellow athletes are criminals who receive special treatment. We can't argue the fact that these athletes have done some thing wrong. The fact of the matter is they have paid or will pay for their actions. Koothnll players and athletes in general wake up every morn ing and do a job for this University We are criticized and scrutinized by people who wish they could do what we are doing, who don’t have the skills necessary to compete and be a student at the Division I level, as we criticize those who have something we do not pos sess. Taking responsibility for the position l have put myself in, I have accepted this critic ism and will continue to do so as long as it is done in a fair and just manner. I am using this article to fill in the gaping holes left by your inadequate investigation You must remember these people you are so quick to point lin gers at are the same people for whom most of the student body cheers on a daily basis Now I would like to sav goodbye to my fair-weathered fans. Camara /ones is an internation al studies and Spanish major. w/u/e Hose linbnano is a jour nalism major at the University. ■ LETTERS & COMMENTARY POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes letters and commen taries from the public concerning topics of Interest to the Uni versity community Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250 WOfds. legible, signed and the identification oi tile writer must bo verified when the letter is submitted Commentaries should be between 600 and HIM) words, legi ble. signed and the identification of the writer must bo verified when the commentary is submitted The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style.
