Alcohol on campus: Parents join call for controls

A new AMA survey shows that parents are very concerned about alcohol abuse at the nation's colleges.

Editorial. Oct. 1, 2001.

A recent AMA survey reveals that 95% of parents are concerned about the amount of alcohol consumed on college campuses. They have good reason to be.

Research indicates that more than 40% of college students are binge drinkers -- many on a regular basis -- who down enough alcohol to get them into trouble with grades or the law, and more important, to put their own health or the well-being of others at risk. At the extreme are reports from recent years of students literally drinking themselves to death or causing deadly accidents. Tragically, it will be no surprise if such stories are repeated this academic year.

Parental concerns have largely been left out of the discussion of alcohol on campus. But the responses parents gave in the AMA survey present a positive sign.

At the very least it appears that the message is getting through about the potential for alcohol abuse on campus. Moreover, other results from the same poll reveal strong support among parents for communitywide solutions that take into account the environmental factors that encourage overconsumption on and around campus.

Parents know from experience that "responsible-acting college student" is a contradiction in terms. Despite evidence that some colleges around the country are making efforts to crack down on college drinking, the fact that so many town and gown officials seem unable to effectively confront the problem is very disturbing. [...]