2008 Woodie Awards
Colleges offer programs, services to stop alcoholism
Tyler Moore
Issue date: 1/28/05 Section: College Life
Alcohol abuse and related incidents are nothing new at universities around the nation or on Murray State's campus.
Several universities across the country have spearheaded on-campus programs to help keep students clean and sober for life. Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland has established a residential recovery service on the campus to aid students who are dealing with the repercussions of alcohol abuse.
"Case's recovery facility is actually a home which has been renovated or transformed into two apartments," Jes Sellers, director of University Counseling Services for Case Western, said. "It is a co-ed facility, but currently we only have men living there."
According to the Associated Press, there are an estimated 1,400 alcohol-related deaths each year among college students, most involving car accidents. A government study released in 2003 stated that binge drinking was climbing fastest among 18-to-20-year-olds.
In 1999, Harvard University's School of Public Health surveyed students at 119 colleges asking questions about their drinking habits. The study found that 51 percent of the men drank five or more drinks and 41 percent of women drank four or more drinks in a given night.
Many college officials are establishing and fine-tuning programs to help those students who suffer from alcohol abuse and don't know where to turn.
Every student who applies to live in the recovery dorm must agree to develop a treatment plan with one of the counseling center professionals.
"The mission is both simple and challenging," Sellers said. "(It is) to help our students at risk regain their ability to remain an active student, make healthy choices and to contribute to Case's powerful learning environment."
Sellers said the dorm has received a lot of attention, including an offer from MTV to use the house as a focus of a new reality show. Sellers declined the offer.
Don Kamalsky, director of Housing for Case, said the house has been a huge success.
Several universities across the country have spearheaded on-campus programs to help keep students clean and sober for life. Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland has established a residential recovery service on the campus to aid students who are dealing with the repercussions of alcohol abuse.
"Case's recovery facility is actually a home which has been renovated or transformed into two apartments," Jes Sellers, director of University Counseling Services for Case Western, said. "It is a co-ed facility, but currently we only have men living there."
According to the Associated Press, there are an estimated 1,400 alcohol-related deaths each year among college students, most involving car accidents. A government study released in 2003 stated that binge drinking was climbing fastest among 18-to-20-year-olds.
In 1999, Harvard University's School of Public Health surveyed students at 119 colleges asking questions about their drinking habits. The study found that 51 percent of the men drank five or more drinks and 41 percent of women drank four or more drinks in a given night.
Many college officials are establishing and fine-tuning programs to help those students who suffer from alcohol abuse and don't know where to turn.
Every student who applies to live in the recovery dorm must agree to develop a treatment plan with one of the counseling center professionals.
"The mission is both simple and challenging," Sellers said. "(It is) to help our students at risk regain their ability to remain an active student, make healthy choices and to contribute to Case's powerful learning environment."
Sellers said the dorm has received a lot of attention, including an offer from MTV to use the house as a focus of a new reality show. Sellers declined the offer.
Don Kamalsky, director of Housing for Case, said the house has been a huge success.
Be the first to comment on this story