Chancellor creates task force to address alcohol abuse

Chancellor Walter Wendler is creating a task force to tackle student alcohol abuse on campus. Wendler said he decided a task force needed to address the subject for the sake of the students, even though some people think it is not an issue.

"What I see as a challenge is getting the campus community to recognize that there may be a problem," Wendler said. "We need an action plan to get some ideas about how to have a positive impact on this." The chancellor said everyone is familiar with the published research on the topic, which includes a recent study by SIUC's own Cheryl Presley, but now the University needs to narrow the focus to how it can best help the students.

The University has not escaped alcohol-related tragedies involving its students. Last spring, a fraternity pledge drowned in Cedar Lake while on a camping trip. In June, an autopsy determined the freshman had a blood alcohol level of .186. In 2002, another freshman was killed by a train after he fell asleep on the railroad tracks. An autopsy revealed the student's blood alcohol content was .237.

Some would say SIUC's past, including its Halloween riots of 2000, has given the University a party reputation. But Wendler said the task force is not charged with trying to improve the University's image because he believes that perception is an "artifact of the past." He said he just wants to help the students. Presley said the task force is not looking to stop alcohol consumption but rather to try and help students avoid alcohol abuse. "Sometimes the choices to drink in excessive ways can be dangerous," Presley said.

Presley, director of the Student Health Programs, has been tapped to lead the task force, which will also include students and faculty. Presley said having students on the task force gives it a unique perspective and will increase the sense of urgency to come up with effective recommendations. Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate and Professional Student Council will select the student representatives.

Presley, who is also the executive director of SIUC's Core Institute, conducted a national poll in 2003, where she discovered a new binge drinking definition. The new category, "heavy and frequent," covers drinkers who consume more than 20 alcoholic beverages a week. She said a campus community can become unsafe when students drink because many times it can lead to tragedy.

"When I see students really hurting themselves when they can't come back to school, that is a concern," Presley said. "It really hurts all the students, not just the ones drinking." Provost John Dunn, who is also trained in the health and recreation field, said learning to drink moderately is the key. "It goes back to the old lesson of moderation," Dunn said. "It's one of the oldest principles of life."

Dunn said when he was interviewed for the provost position in 2002, he was approached with the question of SIUC as a party school. "Who would want to go to a university where the university was not fun?" Dunn said. "Fun is not an inhibitor of learning. It's just a question of balance."