by Tera Roberson
Staff Writer
Just because you know that Sex on the Beach and a Buttery Nipple are not sexually explicit terms, but rather the names of drinks, does not mean you know everything about alcohol and drinking.
Do you know what binge drinking is? Do you have any idea what your alcohol IQ is?
Well, for students who are left a little dazed or confused after those questions, the University of Houston Wellness Center sponsors Alcohol Awareness Week to help answer those questions through information and education.
Wellness Center Director Rosemary Hughes said the purpose of this week is to offer students focused and specific answers and solutions to questions and problems facing college students where alcohol is concerned.
"What we are offering is a very focused program of resources, information and referral for alcohol-related concerns," Hughes said. "(We want to) raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol - to raise awareness about the problems (related to alcohol) and to educate students about the specific areas."
Some of the specific areas the center will focus on this week include: the risks of binge drinking, alcohol and sex, alcohol poisoning, impaired driving prevention and alcohol and violence.
The center will also be offering referrals to students who have specific concerns or questions about alcohol. "This week we are showing videos. We have opportunities to give (students) referrals," Hughes said.
The biggest focus of the week will be to help students distinguish between the one or two drinks at a social event and the binge drinking that nearly half of all college students partake in.
"One of our main jobs is health promotion and prevention. When it comes to talking about alcohol awareness on college campuses, the main problem is binge drinking," Hughes said.
Binge drinking is the drinking that takes place when students drink a great number of drinks in a short amount of time. This amount is five drinks for males and four drinks for females.
Studies show that nearly half of college students binge drink, which, in the case of UH, would account for nearly 14,000 students. Studies also show as many as 360,000 of the nation's 12 million undergraduates will die from alcohol-related causes while in college.
Chris Kerr of the Wellness Center said they will use education as the tool to help them link the bridge between "preaching and teaching" to students.
"We are trying to make people aware, and education is our strongest tool, especially in a way that will reach college students without turning them off. We are talking responsible drinking without preaching," Kerr said.
The "responsible drinking" solution is called "0-1-3." The zero means "no drinking if underage, pregnant or chemically dependent," the one stands for "one drink per hour" and the three represents a goal of "never more than three drinks in a row."
Kerr said the center is offering students information to guide responsible behavior and decision making. "Any student can think of a situation when a student has gone beyond the definition of binge drinking," Kerr said.
Recently, a UH-Downtown freshman struck a HPD motorcycle officer while under the influence of alcohol. "I don't think people realize that you can drink enough to kill yourself or someone else," Kerr said.
Besides the risk of harming or even killing someone after binge drinking, Hughes said some students partake in impulsive and sometimes unwanted sexual activities. "Binge drinkers are found to engage in more unplanned sexual contact, and therefore they abandon safe sex techniques," Hughes said.
Hughes offered a slogan that appeared on posters in the Wellness Center last semester: "Stay out of dangerous situations involving alcohol, whether in a car, bedroom or bar."
Alcohol Awareness Week activities will be held in Room 35 of the UC for the remainder of the week. For more information, call 743-5455.