From festive to fatal:
Alcohol induced death rates increase
Amanda Seef
copy editor
It’s not a surprise to hear that Brockport students drink, but what may be surprising is how many of our classmates are encountering academic, athletic or personal problems because of their consumption of alcohol. This is the final part of a three part series based on the problems and repercussions that SUNY Brockport students have faced recently concerning GPAs, athletics, crime, illness and hospitalization.
Conviction of a crime due to alcohol is undeniably influential on the life of an individual. Major diseases, losing your life or causing someone else to die is even more influential, and more colleges than ever are experiencing the pain and sorrow of losing one of their students due to the misuse of alcohol.
Alcohol overdose and poisoning are life-threatening side-effects from a night of binge drinking. More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem and between 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent of students indicated that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to alcohol use, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reported.
Alcohol toxicity kills more than a dozen college students each year nationally, and an additional 1,500 die from unintentional fatal injuries related to alcohol, the NIAAA said in a 2005 press release.
Campuses across the country have been forced to take on the disaster of deaths due to alcohol. In December, 20-year-old Alabama Southern Community College student Wesley Croley died after a night of heavy drinking. His BAC was .414, .4 is considered fatal. He died at a party where others were drinking beer. He took a bottle of vodka from his truck, offered some to friends and drank the rest. Croley became unconscious and then stopped breathing. There were 18 cases similar to Croley’s in 2006, including two in New York State.
Since alcohol is a depressant, over-consumption can lead to the depression of nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing, heartbeat and the gag reflex that prevents choking. If alcohol is taken in a large enough dose, it will stop these involuntary functions, quickly taking the party from festive to fatal.
The symptoms of alcohol toxicity or poisoning include mental confusion, stupor, coma, vomiting, seizures, slow breathing (fewer than eight breaths per minute), irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths), low body temperature, bluish skin color and paleness. If the symptoms are left untreated, the victim could choke on their own vomit, their heartbeat or breathing could stop, or seizures could occur, all possibly resulting in long-term brain damage.
According to Libby Caruso, director of Brockport’s Health Center, 22 students were transported to Lakeside in the fall semester because of alcohol. This is a 57 percent increase from fall 2005.
“I think we are seeing an increase [in transportation] because there is more awareness,” Caruso said. “Students are more aware of alcohol toxicity so they are sending their friends to the hospital. They see it and say, ‘Woah, she’s really drunk, I can’t wake her up. Let’s get her to the hospital.’ It’s good that they are more aware.”
Although alcohol toxicity is a major problem, many individuals also suffer from mental maladies due to the repeated usage of alcohol. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The strongest risk factors in youth suicide are depression, aggression and substance abuse. Alcoholism or alcohol dependence are contributing factors in approximately 30 percent of all suicides, according to Students Against Destructive Decisions.
Considering alcohol’s depressant qualities, mixing with pre-disposed depression will cause more problems. Many people with depression drink to relieve their symptoms, when in fact, the alcohol’s effects on the body will only make depression worse, reinforcing any self-destruction tendencies that may exist.
It is advised that people with a prior period of depression not drink alcohol.
Help is available on campus for alcohol abuse, dependence and for students of addicted parents. Kathy Weber in the Hazen Hall counseling center is available for alcohol counseling. If you find yourself in need of help, the counseling and health centers are both available to assist you in stopping your dependence. Although there is not formal in-patient rehabilitation on campus, the counseling center is able to assess the situation and refer you to the best programs to suit your needs. There are also AA meetings in the Newman Center on Kenyon Street Mondays at noon.