While an oversized keg unofficially roots for Dartmouth's athletic teams, the College administration is distributing "social norms" table-tents that claim, "89 percent of Dartmouth students don't think alcohol is a very important part of their social life."
There is clearly a disconnect between the perceptions of students and administrators about what role alcohol should play on Dartmouth's campus.
The frequency of alcohol abuse at Dartmouth remains the subject of intense debate. Approximately 30 to 40 students are picked up by Safety and Security each term and taken to Dick's House to recover, according to Dr. John Turco, Director of Dartmouth Health Services. But Turco expressed skepticism as to whether these represented Dartmouth's "frequent alcohol abusers."
"The people that come into Dick's House are typically first time or inexperienced drinkers who don't have a high tolerance or know their limits," Turco said. "I think most of the people with real alcohol problems are experienced drinkers who are able to take care of themselves and so don't end up at Dick's House."
According to the national definition, binge drinkers, those with an alcohol problem, are defined as "those who have five or more drinks in one setting in a two-week period." For women, four or more drinks in one setting is considered binge drinking.
Students interviewed by The Dartmouth, however, disagreed.
"I think it's unfair to have an all-encompassing definition for binge drinking. How alcohol affects people varies widely according to their weight, race and tolerance," Jake Anderson '07 said.
"While the definition is a nice general guideline, we like to sit down with students and see how they are using alcohol. If they're pacing five drinks over the course of an entire night they probably don't have a problem," said Ryan Travia, coordinator of Dartmouth's Alcohol and Drug Education Program, and Bryant Ford, a counselor at College Health Services.
Bryant warned that drinking games, such as pong or "Beirut," should be avoided by students since they encourage people who might otherwise make healthy choices about alcohol to consume large amounts instead.
Bryant and Travia identify students with a drinking problem in two ways. The first is by monitoring visits to Dick's House, where a group counseling session is recommended. The other way is through National Alcohol Screening Day, which falls on April 10.
"At NASD, students fill out a five to ten minute survey about their drinking and then sit down with a counselor. If they've been engaging in low-risk drinking, they are encouraged to continue doing so. If the counselor sees a pattern of alcohol abuse, they suggest the student return for a follow-up," Travia said.
Travia noted that while "alcohol is clearly drug of choice," the percentage of students who identified themselves as non-drinkers in the Social Norms Poll has risen to 19.2 percent from 13.5 percent only two years ago.
The college offers two alcohol counseling programs, TRAC I and TRAC II. TRAC I is used mainly for the Greek houses and athletic teams. It is designed to be interactive and encourage moderate drinking. TRAC II is more informational. It focuses on the physiology of alcohol consumption and is presented six to seven times a year for people referred to it by the College's deans and alcohol clinicians.
