Survey reveals student drug use statistics

Surprising news about students' perceptions of alcohol and drug use on campus was submitted to President of the College Nancy Dye this week in the final report of the Alcohol/Drug Task Force Committee.

The report, which summerized a year-long investigation process, shows that students believe substance use is more prevalent on campus than statistics indicate.

Members of the Task Force were selected by Dye and included sophomore Joshua Kaye, junior Matthew Norton and senior Jeff Kurzweil. Faculty members were Professor of Philosophy Norman Care, Assistant Dean and Residential Hall Coordinator Barbara Mehwald, Director of Counseling Charles Ross and College Physician Judith Appleton.

The survey revealed that 70 percent of Oberlin students are current alcohol users, meaning they had drunk alcohol within 30 days prior to taking the survey. Sixty-eight percent of underage students drink. Approximately 25 percent of the campus abstains from drinking alcohol or seldom drinks. Fifty-five percent of students used marijuana at least once in the past year, and 29 percent used another illegal drug. When asked to identify the drugs they most frequently use, 29 percent of students cited marijuana, while 11 percent named hallucinogens and 6 percent listed amphetamines as their drug of choice.

Polls taken of Oberlin students, however, indicated that 87 percent of students believe the average Oberlin student drinks alcohol at least once a week. Sixty-seven percent think the average student uses an illegal drug once a week or more.

"I'd gotten the idea that a lot of people on campus have enjoyed the use of drugs and alcohol, but what I found from talking to students was that the perception of substance use at Oberlin is a lot higher than the actual amount," Kurzweil said.

"I was surprised at how many people told me they couldn't stand drugs and alcohol," he said.

Falling under the category of drug and alcohol abusers are the 34 percent of Oberlin students who admitted to having a serious personal problem such as depression, addiction, or thoughts of suicide as a result of drinking or drug use. Thirty-two percent cited at least one incident of public misconduct, such as Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or sexual misconduct, in the past year as a result of drinking or drug use.

Compared to the national average of the survey's reference group, Oberlin students use both tobacco products and illicit drugs more frequently, yet they drink less than students at other universities.

"Though this is hard to quantify, it seems that Oberlin students are more responsible than other students in their drug use. We might use more drugs, but we have less problems as a result," Norton said.

All of the statistical results were included in the committee's report, along with many recommendations to improve Oberlin's drug-prevention programs.

Established last year, the Task Force's job was to devise a report which would cover such topics as "community standards regarding alcohol and drug use and effective ways to prevent substance abuse" and would "review the effectiveness of existing alcohol and drug policies and programs," according to the literature each Task Force member was given at the outset.

The committee's research was based on statistics derived from the National Alcohol and Drug survey distributed to 642 Oberlin students in the spring of 1995 regarding their attitudes and behaviors concerning drugs and alcohol. In addition, Task Force members spoke with various groups of Oberlin students and staff about their perceptions of substance abuse on campus and compared results with findings from a reference group of 60,000 students at universities nationwide.

Among the committees with whom the Task Force met were the Academic Standing Committee, Sexual Assault Support Team, Residential Life and Services, the College Judicial Board, Campus Security, Human Resources, the Counseling Department and Health Services.

"We met with these groups to discuss their perceptions about incidents of drug and alcohol abuse on campus, and though their responses were varied, overall they told us the issue wasn't that pervasive," Kurzweil said.

The Task Force also questioned a representative group of Oberlin students about their knowledge of College policies, as well as their feelings about the amount of drug and alcohol abuse at Oberlin.

"Oberlin has always had a complex reputation regarding liberal substance use. It's a school that encourages independent thinking, and sometimes that goes along with the use of some drugs," Kaye said.

Although Oberlin students believe that a high amount of drug and alcohol use takes place on campus, "the report concluded that `Oberlin does not have unusual or upsetting problems with drug and alcohol abuse, and that there is no negative impact' as a result," according to Kaye.

"We really emphasized that the concern here is drug and alcohol abuse, not just substance use," Kaye said. "Oberlin's always had a laissez-faire attitude about drug and alcohol use; it's only when misconduct occurs that it can be considered abuse."

"One of the topics we focused on in our research and discussions was the confusion about Oberlin's exact policies on drugs and alcohol," Kaye said, citing as an example the double-standard employed when a student is caught in possession of an illegal substance.

"If the incident is discovered by Residential Life and Services, the student is given several warnings before he or she is reported to the College Judicial Board; but if Security catches a student in an identical situation, he or she is often immediately sent before the Judicial Board or reported to the police. We wanted to clear that up and clarify exactly what the policies are," Kaye said.

In addition to proposing that alcohol- and drug-related policies be clarified and published for distribution to every student, committee members suggested the college provide more resources to aid in prevention of drug use. They recommended hiring a health educator to specifically deal with alcohol and drug abuse issues, as well as continuing the support offered to Alcoholics Anonymous and the recovery community.

They also endorsed presentations during Orientation on healthy alternatives to substance use, as well as increasing research on students' knowledge about substance abuse and college policies regarding this matter.

The report proposed that alcohol and drug-free housing should be made available to students, and recommended an increase in the training of Residential Counselors and Security members.

"Throughout the process we talked about our thoughts and our experiences with drug and alcohol use, focusing mostly on its harmful effects. The Task Force was developed to focus on a problem, if there was one, on campus. Basically we found that there wasn't a problem," Kurzweil said.

"I don't think the use of drugs matters; it's the effect of that use on students and on our community that is important. We should be concentrating on the result of the use as opposed to the use itself," Norton added. "That's really what the Task Force was all about."

"Now that the report's been turned in, it's anyone's guess as to what happens next," Kaye said.