The percentage of Dartmouth women who report binge drinking is well above the national average while the number of Dartmouth men who report binge drinking almost exactly matches the national average.
According to the National Commission on Substance Abuse at Colleges and Universities, 38 percent of women surveyed nationwide reported binge drinking at least once in the previous two weeks.
The Columbia University study was released June 7.
Binge drinking is defined as consuming five drinks or more in one sitting, Sims said. A drink is considered one can of beer, one shot of hard liquor or one glass of wine.
At Dartmouth, about 50 percent of the women reported binge drinking at least once in the previous two weeks, according to statistics provided by Janet Sims, director of College health resources.
The national average for men who report binge drinking at least once in the previous two weeks is 54 percent, according to the study. Dartmouth matches that figure, Sims said.
Forty-two percent of all college students reported drinking heavily in the previous two weeks, according to the Columbia study. In stark contrast, 52.3 percent of all Dartmouth students surveyed reported the same activity.
Drinking heavily and binge drinking are considered the same activity in both studies.
However, Sims said alcohol abuse at Dartmouth is decreasing. She said 56.5 percent of Dartmouth students reported binge drinking at least once in the previous two weeks in 1991, compared to the 52 percent figure in 1992.
Sims also pointed out that Dartmouth was under the New England-region's figure for student binge drinking by one percentile point.
The New England region has the highest percentage of binge drinkers in the nation, Sims said.
However, the most shocking statistic in the national survey is the dramatic increase in female binge drinkers, according to its authors. In 1977, only 10 percent of college-age women were drinking to get drunk, compared to 35 percent in 1993.
Drinking to get drunk implies going out for an evening with the express purpose of getting intoxicated, while some binge drinkers do not intend to get drunk.
Gabrielle Lucke, the College health educator, said she was not surprised at the large increase of female binge drinkers.
"I would speculate that women tend to drink in more quiet or intimate settings than men," Lucke said. "They tend to have less public results of alcohol problems. Women's drinking is more secretive."
Seventeen years ago women would be less likely to publicize their drinking habits, Lucke said. Now, women are more comfortable admitting they consume alcohol.
Lucke said men get themselves into more trouble through drinking than women and, consequently, she sees more men referred from the Dean's office for alcohol education than she does women.
"Men are much more visible in binge drinking," Lucke said. "There is more of an eye on men because of their history at the College."
However, drinking does not only occur in Greek house basements, Lucke said, despite the common perception.
"There is a lot of drinking in the residence halls," she said. "Then the people go to Greek houses. If they get in trouble, the people neglect to mention that they were drinking earlier."
Sims attributed a large part of the national college alcohol problem to the perception that drinking is part of the typical college social scene.
"I think it is part of the identity of being a college student," Sims said. "Students are bored. They don't feel connected, so they drink to feel social or sexual."
Sims said perceptions are very powerful in determining whether people drink alcohol or not.
"Students are setting out to drink a lot because they see that as the norm," Sims said. "People try to do what they perceive as the norm."
Sims said 33 percent of the campus has an average of less than one drink a week and that another 12 to 13 percent of the student body has only two to five drinks a week.
"There is a large group not drinking, but they aren't making any noise, so no one knows they exist," Sims said. "What we have to do is empower that thirty-three percent who don't binge drink. We have to locate them early and allow them to find other options."
Both Lucke and Sims said the College is actively trying to shift the focus of campus culture away from alcohol.
"I think it is common knowledge that in a large group of students here, the social life is very dependent on alcohol," Lucke said.
The College currently has a grant application filed with the United States Department of Education for a FIPSE grant, Lucke said. FIPSE is the Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education.
The money from the FIPSE grant would help develop alcohol-free alternative programming.
Lucke cited the success of the Winter Carnival Formal in the Winter term and Casino Night in the Spring term as successful alcohol alternative programming.
"On the night of Casino Night, which was a big campus event, there were no people admitted to Dick's House for alcohol-related problems," Lucke said.
The College is currently waiting for the results of its CORE Institute survey which was conducted in the Spring term, Lucke said.
The CORE survey will provide the College with entirely new and updated numbers about the number and types of alcohol drinkers on Dartmouth's campus, she said.
The CORE survey was run by the CORE Institute, which is part of the Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs.
The Columbia University report also stated that college students spend an estimated $5.5 billion a year on alcohol, which is more than their combined outlays for books and all other beverages. The per capita expenditure per college student is $446 a year.
