In Class Article

In recent years, college student drinking habits have become the concern of much debate; Two officials from New Hampshire colleges were broadcasted over New Hampshire Public Radio to discuss the “frightening” amount of alcohol students consume.
“Students have been drinking as long as we have had students,” said Anne Lawing, Senior Assistant Vice President For Student Affairs at the University of New Hampshire.
Lawing and Sheila Lambert, Coordinator of Wellness at Southern New Hampshire University, agreed on one thing: college students will drink, but they disagreed on how we should view and treat the problem.
“We are concerned… at the same time, there are misperceptions,” said Lambert.
Lambert believes that the students have the wrong information regarding the realities of drinking on campus. In reality, students tend to drink four or less drinks per week according to a poll administered by the University of New Hampshire’s Health Services.
This debate stems from the recent concerns of the Hanover Police Department as campus drinking has caused a rise of vandalism, violence, assaults, drunk driving, and sexual assaults that is being dealt with by the community.
As a result, the Hanover Police Department had began sting operations to college parties as Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. though sting operations have been put on hold by the persistence of the college administration that fear drinking will go underground, cause parties to be discreet, and emergency services will not be called in case of an alcohol related emergency.
“Anything we can do we are will to do,” said Lambert.
Every year, nationwide, 1,700 college students die from alcohol related deaths and over 600,000 students have alcohol related injuries.