Alcohol reports to dean rising

In the past five fall semesters, the alcohol-related reports to the Office of the Dean of Students have increased by about 153 percent.

But the increase isn’t being reflected in other University departments that monitor alcohol violations, and officials trying to address the problem are still unsure of the cause.

The University only uses the fall semester reports for comparison, but Dean Blackburn, assistant dean in the dean of students office, said the spring semester reports have probably seen the same increase.

The violations primarily concern underage drinking or possession, but reports also reflect open container violations, fake ID usage and driving while impaired.

A majority of reports are from off-campus incidents, near the Franklin Street bar area, Blackburn said.

“Nationally we’ve seen alcohol use is rising across the country, and for Carolina, we’re no different,” said Eric Smith, heath educator for Campus Health Services.

“Our numbers are pretty much at the national average there in terms of our students who drink.”

But the Department of Public Safety has not seen any change in student alcohol consumption, spokesman Randy Young said.

“We certainly see a prevalent use of one drug on campus, and that is alcohol,” Young said. “But I don’t know that there has been a specific rise attributable to anything there.”

A student can be reported to the dean of students office by any University official or an off-campus law enforcement officer.

Students may also be referred to the Housing and Residential Education office for violating UNC alcohol policy in a residence hall.

Scott Iverson, assistant director for apartments and summer operations, said the Housing and Residential Education office received 133 alcohol-related reports this academic year, which wasn’t an increase from previous years.

“Some times of the year are busier than others. Say Halloween, you’re going to see more cases,” Iverson said. “But we can’t say there’s been a specific marked increase in cases this year.”

Blackburn said the Campus Alcohol Task Force has been working for the past year and a half to reduce the number of reports.

Blackburn said the task force is currently working to create late-night activity spaces, such as the Union basement renovations, and assess the University’s existing alcohol-related programs and services.

One of the services being evaluated is an online alcohol intervention program called e-Chug used by Counseling and Wellness Services.

Smith said the program has proved to decrease the amount students drink by 40 percent and decrease the frequency with which they drink by 50 percent.

“Our primary concern is the health and wellness of that student,” Blackburn said. “So our primary referral is related to our primary concern about general health and well being.”

 

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