UW-Madison received statewide attention last week for a study that showed the number of students at the university who binge drink to be approximately 20 percent higher than the national average.
According to the survey, conducted by Henry Wechsler and The Harvard School of Public Health, 66 percent of UW-Madison respondents said they had engaged in binge drinking in 2001, compared to a national average of 44 percent.
Binge drinking rates were between 35 percent and 50 percent at most schools. Criteria used by the Harvard researchers defines binge drinking as five or more drinks on one occasion for a male and four or more drinks for a female.
The study also showed that while education regarding alcohol issues had increased during 2001, the rate of binge drinking had remained steady.
UW-Madison has participated in this research since Wechsler's first national study in 1993. In 2000, 62 percent of UW-Madison respondents said they engaged in binge drinking, compared to 67 percent in 1999.
Part of the reason binge drinking numbers remain more or less the same is because not enough progress has been made in terms of alcohol policy in Madison, according to Jonathan Zarov, communications manager for University Health Services and the Robert Wood Johnson Project.
An RWJ grant, which seeks to change the norms that result in high-risk drinking on a college campus and the surrounding community, was given to UW-Madison more than five years ago.
UW-Madison was chosen for the grant because the university had a \severe"" problem with drinking and because it was willing to address that problem, Zarov said.
The RWJ project works in three areas: education, alternatives and policy.
A recent policy change was a reworking of the city's keg registration rules. Current policy efforts are also being made to reduce or eliminate drink specials in local bars.
""Perhaps that's why the numbers haven't gone down so far'because we haven't done what we really need to do to change the environment in a policy-oriented way,"" Zarov said.
Binge drinking at UW-Madison goes beyond the campus, according to UW Police Sgt. Jerone VanNatta.
""I would say that we have a very open climate to consuming alcohol, and that's not just UW-Madison. That's the whole state,"" he said.
And to look only at the results of this type of survey is not giving the whole picture of the university, Zarov said.
""Ultimately it diminishes the value of a UW degree ... the fact is that the degree should be worth more than that,"" he said. ""There are a lot of good things going on here.\
