A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences – Know the statistics!

The consequences of excessive and underage drinking affect virtually all college campuses, college communities, and college students, whether they choose to drink or not.   Please review the following information about a national survey of student drinking consequences. 

• Death: 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes (Hingson et al., 2005).

• Injury: 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol (Hingson et al., 2005).

• Assault: More than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking (Hingson et al., 2005).

• Sexual Abuse: More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape (Hingson et al., 2005).

• Unsafe Sex: 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex (Hingson et al., 2002).

• Academic Problems: About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall (Engs et al., 1996;Presley et al., 1996a, 1996b; Wechsler et al., 2002).

• Health Problems/Suicide Attempts: More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem (Hingson et al., 2002) and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use (Presley et al., 1998).

• Drunk Driving: 2.1 million students between the ages of 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol last year (Hingson et al., 2002).

• Vandalism: About 11 percent of college student drinkers report that they have damaged property while under the influence of alcohol (Wechsler et al., 2002).

• Property Damage: More than 25 percent of administrators from schools with relatively low drinking levels and over 50 percent from schools with high drinking levels say their campuses have a "moderate" or "major" problem with alcohol-related property damage (Wechsler et al., 1995).

• Police Involvement: About 5 percent of 4-year college students are involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking (Wechsler et al., 2002) and an estimated 110,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are arrested for an alcohol-related violation such as public drunkenness or driving under the influence (Hingson et al., 2002).

• Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: 31 percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking (Knight et al., 2002).

Cowley College is committed to providing a drug free environment for  students and employees.   School policies are designed to promote such an atmosphere.  Complete copies of school policies can be located from the college website at www.cowley.edu/policy or hard copies can be obtained from the Chief Student Affairs Officer.
 #127.00  DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE
The college supports and endorses the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act amendments of 1989. 

#465.00 DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE
The possession, use, or sale of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs will not be permitted in college facilities or at college sponsored activities.

#453.00 SUBSTANCE ABUSE POLICY FOR INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
The Cowley College athletic department  is committed to a drug free environment on campus.   The drug testing and compliance policy was implemented to foster this atmosphere.  The primary purposes of the program are to educate and prevent substance abuse.   Mandatory counseling and parental notification are components of the sanctions involved in substance abuse violations.   While  suspension from the sport or removal from scholarship and the squad are also possibilities for violations, the program goal is to rehabilitate through education and counseling – not to eliminate.  

HELP IS AVAILABLE!!!!!
It is strongly recommended that Cowley College students in need of substance abuse counseling begin by contacting the Cowley College Student Life Counselor:
Roy Reynolds, Student Life Counselor
Phone:  620-441-5228 or 800-593-2222 ext. 5228
 Email: reynolds@cowley.edu
Office: Nelson Student Center, Arkansas City
Address: 125 S. Second, P.O. Box 1147, Arkansas City, KS 67005

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT E-MAIL : E-mail is not a secure or confidential medium. There is no guarantee that any e-mail that you send to the Student Life Counselor will remain confidential. Please feel free to use e-mail to contact the Student Life Counselor. However, if you are in any way concerned about the contents of your e-mail being read by someone other than the Student Life Counselor, please consider phoning or dropping by the office instead.
For students who prefer to not contact the Student Life Counselor, it is recommended that the following resources be considered:

• Your family doctor (for a referral to a counselor or therapist)
• A counselor or therapist that you have worked with previously
• A counselor or therapist recommended by a friend or family member
• Your community mental health center:
  In Cowley County: Cowley County Mental Health @ 620-442-4540 or 620-221-9664
  In Sedgwick County: COMCARE at 316-660-7540
  In other counties: contact the Student Life Counselor for contact information