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.
Oregon Daily
PO BOI iuCtHf 0*iG0N*T4Gl
Th« CfeapKVf rwy f ^ptaks >.* putri>»t>ad da*'y Monday o-ugt f »*daty **>• $c#woi
ye* a«J Tuctf&ty and Tt**a<S.*y du'^ tt>e summaf try ffi* Oepo^ 0<Wy fcm«#>aKj PubeaAvyg
Co . bK . a! it© Urwvo* vfy o* Qrtgoo. f upon*. Oegex'
Ihv ( opera!** -*v)«!p0rxJOrttty o' !*>© U'v.ve-vly w:!h c^h:«% a! Su*t* 300 (H t*«
( ft- Mtf-’V-- .li U»>'H<r» find *9 4 m«wr»tW* (>f «h« A**v *t«KJ
TN» (y vate property Th« unMwM removal ot um o* paper* j proMcutaNe
V
Man»Qtnn ((jitot
EiUtcxuii EcHUm
►*•*»» An Bettor
Ff«rt*nc* EdllOf
Editor •Mt-CfUaf. $040
S)ttv«d Tfy»n
J*K1 Pisi*y
lO/> &««**«*’
r*&w* tail or
Spo*i« tditof
Supp*«m«ni» Ed»«o*
Ni^jh! Editor
MttOtcc* M
Ot*tt
T rista No#
P*v»d Thorn
AstOCUM* CdHOft Amy Cts,mt>0. Gov+rnm+m Adi* f-r* f 3*a:i5
Comm^z/wry Goietn Po^*q. H»$hin f Ju at»cn Act™***afd*>n
Newt StsTf: S»«v« Ajfe/y. M«^va CJ*0«m. Moiatty Conroy, Amy l Dfvflnpo't. Ptrvo
C>*X}*ei ' - .v Malt k.tf* •' Joe Ha'w.xxJ k.»!» »Mr*y T«*>*y Kftttrwr? Sf-iv^vYiyGnJuh Adam
SinMoifyi Mirtfi Mo" M. jv«>k> Mt-t M. T>t«. Pal'«.* MW on! Ber Moab*u«, Nan**#
fcA v' .‘gom«r> Afvx» M^e* Ko*«t#*<l Sh**ry R*v<’V» Na!^ Shopp'd. P*.'. Van &c*to $«*t
S-"^. Ma*h*s* Sf-MWw MiVa S?-'X» St^ttXV Km vVr*>» tlr Worn*:*. [ m Zlk:Jtm
Genet M Managei A*Jy ft*K?
Ai1w*/1inng 0<f®ctCM Mat* WtfUK ProckiCttO* M neieftOM
Adwtlwng - A -. -** A ".WC*. A:h14 &yaAP1 Mar |DV'^. Tofj Kc* N*> « *««*
Ly*iV- .fc»#eriT U.»v Sarah MMieh©*;* Tom A>«
Bacfcy M»* t\ii ’ U> '•V'*' Ky^** Q*v*.», Jo*> S<^«»n
Oifttributioo: >«yv' li j Ra*>> .* Graham S*mp§0*>
Bufcmi'M Kathy Ca/tSO' «\ h*'vtskv Jxly Cc ••'•>.. >
PtoducJton EW- a M:' oofc. P* ■.\Ax r-vv* Ctxva •.»?* Sh.i*-■•»-» At*****. Tar* Cia . i-vay 8*ad
JO** M , McCar’Ja. Jr*’-■'-*** RoMndL I aytoo V«e
Newvoom
U«j»me»» Office
346*5511
346-5512
DtipMf A(Jv#/tJ*ing
Ct»*»ilM<J Adwtl*ing
M6-OAJ
>^p~UARs STRATC&IC- Hohitorwo^m^
I City ,
<Om u*
ujwat 4££ ruCy
lookup, for ?
A FUfiJ&NC,
/HC8MASI:. '
■ 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.