The Associated Students of Madison Student Council met with University Health Services representatives during its meeting Wednesday to discuss survey results regarding drinking habits on campus compared to national averages.
UHS Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Coordinator Reonda Washington and Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Program Coordinator Jenny Rabas introduced statistics from the 2013-’14 National College Health Assessment, which collected data from large public universities on student drinking habits.
Washington and Rabas noted that according to survey results from AlcoholEdu, an alcohol, education program for first-year students, UW-Madison had a higher rate of incoming students with previous alcohol experience and a lower rate of non-drinkers on campus compared to NCHA averages.
AlcoholEdu survey data also indicated a higher rate of “pregaming,” taking shots and chugging alcohol at UW-Madison than at other schools. UW-Madison students reported an increase in “blacking out,” experiencing hangover symptoms and performing poorly on assignments after drinking.
Because alcohol use on campus is a combination of individual choice and environmental influence, Rabas said education and prevention campaigns must work on multiple levels.
Rabas urged the council to brainstorm ideas for student involvement in further alcohol education initiatives, such as bystander intervention programs and alternative activities to drinking.
Also at the meeting, the council reviewed its resolution to the “Higher Education, Lower Debt” bill, which would allow Wisconsin college students to refinance loans at a lower interest rate, give tax breaks to students with loans and provide students with financial counseling.
ASM Chair Madison Laning said the bill would allow students with debt to “save money as the years go forward.”
Kyla Kaplan, the ASM vice chair, updated the council on UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s appeal to waive the university’s 27.5 percent nonresident enrollment cap, a move Kaplan said she made without student input.
Kaplan referenced a previous statement by Blank stating that the appeal is a budgetary initiative to generate more money for the university by giving more flexibility in admittance.
Shared Governance Chair Jessica Franco-Morales voiced concerns with the appeal, and said there was a lack of student input on the issue.
“Once again, students are seen as a source of revenue to the university,” Franco-Morales said.
