In September, Dane County's detoxification center saw an above-average number of UW-Madison students who required its services, according to an ongoing study by University Health Services.
Students admitted to the detox center, also known as the Tellurian-UCAN detoxification unit, were asked to fill out a survey concerning their drinking activities.
A total of 16 separate surveys were completed last month, according to Director of Prevention Services at UHS Susan Crowley.
The number of students transported to detox was unusually high during the first two weekends of the school year, especially among women, Crowley said.
'This used to be a primarily male issue but we're seeing more females,' she said. 'Most of the females are reporting that they're drinking shots and hard liquor. They don't have any understanding of how much they've consumed.'
UW-Madison Police Cpt. Dale Burke said he is worried women are at a larger risk than men once they choose to drink.
'It just seems like females are of smaller stature and such the alcohol impacts them faster and to a much greater extent than an average male,' he said.
The period following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center saw a sharp downturn in campus drinking Crowley said.
'The weekends of the 15 and the 22 were fairly quiet,' she said.
According to Kevin Helmcamp, assistant Residence Life director of the Southeast residents halls, students living in the residence halls reacted to the tragedy in a positive manner.
'The [amount] of alcohol severity was down following the days after the incident,' Helmcamp said.
Burke said the problem is controlling the drinking situation as life returns to normal.
'The year started off and it seems like the incoming freshmen hit the ground running,' he said. 'They rush into these things without being fully prepared for what they're getting themselves into.'
Crowley said students' lack of experience with alcohol is the main factor in their problem with binge drinking.
'The overruling factors were that they misjudged how much they were drinking,' Crowley said. 'Once students become more experienced with their drinking then their drinking patterns can change.'
Burke cautioned students against drinking themselves into dangerous situations.
'When we do our SOAR program, I always say 'Don't try to fit the first four years of college into the first four weeks of school,'' he said. 'Take your time, don't drink yourself where you put yourself in the position of a victim.'
