Binge Drinking

Freshmen who enroll in colleges where many students engage in binge drinking are quick to adopt the binge-drinking lifestyle, according to a survey released yesterday.In the survey of 720 freshmen, 41 percent of those who said they did not binge drink in high school began drinking heavily shortly after arriving at colleges known for their "party" atmosphere.The findings come on the heels of a national study by the same researchers, which showed that almost half of U.S. college students are frequent heavy drinkers -- leading to serious health problems and other consequences for themselves and other students.

Using zoning laws to limit alcohol outlet density won't stop the heaviest drinkers from consuming alcoholic beverages ("Government should use zoning to limit liquor stores, Hopkins researchers say," April 11). Such a solution oversimplifies the problem of alcohol abuse. Just compare Maryland and Pennsylvania. Despite its smaller population, Maryland's private control of alcohol sales means it has roughly 1.5 times as many alcohol retail outlets as government-controlled Pennsylvania.

Police crack down on Frostburg binge drinking Maryland State Police say they are joining local law enforcement in a springtime crackdown on binge drinking in Frostburg, home to Frostburg State University. Capt. James Pyles said the effort began Friday and will continue through the spring. Besides increased patrols and visibility, police say they are collecting and analyzing intelligence on house parties held by unrecognized fraternities that are little more than drinking clubs.

Savannah Bass, 21, who grew up in Ruxton and graduated from Roland Park Country School in 2008, is working to curb binge drinking on college campuses and along the beach during spring break. As one of 13 University of Alabama students in charge of LessThanUThink, she is using a humorous approach to convey the message that excessive drinking can have unintended, even embarrassing consequences. "We found through research that students don't respond to messages that are negative," she said.

More than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink four times a month, more than previously thought, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The reports says that young adults up to age 34 binge drink the most, but of the seniors who binge drink, they do more often, an average of five to six times a month. (Binge drinking is 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women in a short amount of time.) It's most common in people who household income is over $75,000 but those with incomes of less than $25,000 drink the most per occasion.

In recounting her battles with alcohol, author Koren Zailckas doesn't skimp on the details - her first drink at the age of 14, the years of blackouts and hangovers, waking up in a strange man's apartment and, finally, her embrace of sobriety at the ripe old age of 22. Her story is notable because she crafted it into a best-selling book, Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood, not because it's rare. Recent surveys suggest that today's girls and college-age women are abusing alcohol in ways not seen in previous generations - by binge drinking more often and at earlier ages.

BROADWAY, Va. -- There's a limit to the ability of mere laws to fix our problems.Take the case of the state of Virginia, which is considering lowering the drinking age. Not because 18- to-20-year-olds have been so impressive in how responsibly they've been using alcohol, but for precisely the opposite reason. In recent months in the state, five alcohol-related deaths have been recorded among underage college students.Faulty premiseSo, why lower the legal age? The thinking is, so long as college students' consumption is illegal, their schools are barred from leading these young people toward wiser drinking habits.

A number of respected academic leaders in Maryland believe the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18, to help confront what they describe as a hidden crisis in binge drinking among students. But they offer no convincing evidence that lowering the drinking age would reduce excessive alcohol use by college students. What we do know is that since 1984, when Congress effectively raised the national drinking age to 21, the number of young drivers charged with drunken driving has declined significantly, as has the number of alcohol-related highway deaths.

PHILADELPHIA -- The bar is packed, the floor is wet, and dozens of glassy-eyed young people are squeezed around tables trying to lob pingpong balls into cups of beer. It is the final round of a beer pong championship, sponsored by a maker of portable beer pong tables, and all across the bar, as one team scores points, the other happily guzzles beer. "It's awesome," said Chris Shannon, 22, a senior at Drexel University here. "If you win, you win. If you lose, you drink. There's no negative."

PHILADELPHIA -- Not very long ago, Smokey Joe's, like a magnet, drew students to its horseshoe-shaped bar, with its wooden booths and photos of old University of Pennsylvania sports heroes. The beer flowed freely.Students from Penn, Drexel University, St. Joseph's University and other colleges still come to the bar, but these days they are just as likely to order a Coke as a pitcher of Bud. Call it the age of moderation."Most people don't drink much," said Larry Brooks, 20, a bartender at Smokey Joe's and a Penn junior from Miami.

Recent Baltimore Sun coverage of the trial of a young man accused of killing a fellow student at the University of Virginia while under the influence of alcohol brings necessary attention to a cultural problem that most college and university leaders feel at a loss to change. High-risk drinking among our nation's college students has become an epidemic and, in fact, is getting worse. High-risk drinking takes the lives of some 1,800 students each year, while tens of thousands more are harmed or harm others.

There's little question that George Huguely V, the former University of Virginia student on trial for murder, had a problem with alcohol. He had been arrested twice for drinking-related infractions, one of them violent, in his early 20s. And he admits to consuming at least 15 drinks - and likely had more, witnesses said - the day he confronted Yeardley Love at her off-campus apartment in 2010, assaulting her so severely she later died, according...

Irreverent comedian and bad-girl author Chelsea Handler has turned her popular memoir, "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea," into a new sitcom that makes its debut tonight. The NBC series, "Are You There, Chelsea?" stars Laura Prepon as Handler, while Handler plays the older sister - who is reportedly based on her real sister Simone, according to People. A review in the Los Angeles Times said the show "takes the intemperate habits that were long the province of the crazy sidekick and gives them to the lead.

More than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink four times a month, more than previously thought, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The reports says that young adults up to age 34 binge drink the most, but of the seniors who binge drink, they do more often, an average of five to six times a month. (Binge drinking is 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women in a short amount of time.) It's most common in people who household income is over $75,000 but those with incomes of less than $25,000 drink the most per occasion.

— Police said a Frostburg University student stabbed another student during an off-campus party after first pulling a knife on a third student who "would not get out of the way" in a crowded kitchen. The suspect, Shanee Liggins, 23, of Waldorf, was ordered held without bail on first-degree murder and other charges during a brief hearing at District Court in Cumberland. Her parents attended the hearing and met privately with a public defender, but said little as they left the courthouse holding hands.

The day after Gov. Martin O'Malley's 18-year-old daughter was briefly hospitalized, apparently after drinking alcohol, the first lady called the incident a "teachable moment." "We … encourage all parents and teenagers to be safe this graduation season," Katie Curran O'Malley said in a statement Friday. Tara O'Malley, the second-eldest of the governor's four children, graduated Wednesday from Notre Dame Preparatory School and had been at a celebration Thursday. A Baltimore police officer found her "apparently unconscious" with a friend at the Inner Harbor about 7:30 p.m. She was treated at Harbor Hospital and released that night.

Alcohol and drug use has declined in some categories among Carroll County students the past two years, but increases in other areas are cause for concern, school officials said."

Western Maryland College almost lost a sophomore to alcohol poisoning last month, after a young woman drank more than 20 shots of bourbon in a competitive drinking bout, college officials said.The incident occurred at an unauthorized, unsupervised party in a fraternity clubroom on campus, officials said. The clubroom is in a dormitory."In my time here, there has never been such a serious, life-threatening situation," said Philip Sayre, now in his 15th year as dean of student affairs.The student was disciplined, and the local fraternity, Gamma Beta Chi, and local sorority Alpha Nu Omega have lost "virtually every privilege," Sayre confirmed yesterday.

Police crack down on Frostburg binge drinking Maryland State Police say they are joining local law enforcement in a springtime crackdown on binge drinking in Frostburg, home to Frostburg State University. Capt. James Pyles said the effort began Friday and will continue through the spring. Besides increased patrols and visibility, police say they are collecting and analyzing intelligence on house parties held by unrecognized fraternities that are little more than drinking clubs.

DEAR AMY: My husband has begun traveling frequently for work. He spends extravagantly, often putting large charges on our credit card, which we've agreed to pay off, not put more charges on. He drinks excessively. Recently, he fell asleep drunk in a hotel bathroom. (A co-worker found him there.) He rarely drinks at home - maybe a beer with dinner out once or twice a month. When I ask him why this continues to happen, even though he promises not to do any of these things each time he leaves, he says he "doesn't know why" he does it and can't explain it. He tells me that most of the money he spends is on gifts for me, which is true, and I thank him, but I tell him I'd rather save our money for a vacation together or paying off debt.