According to the Core Drug and Alcohol Survey administered by the University every two years, 77 percent of students consumed alcohol at least once a month during the spring of 2004. Of those students, 61 percent binged within two weeks of taking the survey.

Binge drinking is defined by the University’s Alcohol and Drug Office (AODO) as consuming four or more drinks in one night for women, and five or more drinks in one night for men.

“Five drinks? That’s ridiculous,” said Matthew Doherty, sophomore in ALS, when told the definition of binge drinking. “That’s child’s play.”

“I would assume it would be around 14 to 18 beers,” said Ben Graf, junior in Engineering, after seriously contemplating the number. His three roommates guessed 10, 14 and 15 respectively.

“We live within such an alcohol-soaked culture here (at the University), that students don’t grasp what binge drinking is,” said Sara Sandstrom, Resident Director at Scott Hall. “It just becomes the unquestioned norm.”

Common social activities on campus include drinking games that are played with the goal of becoming quickly intoxicated. “Power hour,” for example, is a popular game in which each person drinks one shot of beer at every minute throughout one hour.

“Everyone (at the University) has done a power hour,” Dave Yadron, junior in Engineering, said. “And if they haven’t, I bet everyone will by the time they graduate.”

“The concept of pre-drinking is a huge issue with binge drinking on campus,” said Ilene Harned, coordinator of the Alcohol and Other Drug Office. “Pre-drinking,” sometimes referred to as “pre-gaming,” involves students drinking before going to a bar or a party.

Bars on campus play a part in normalizing binge drinking, Harned said. Single drinks containing four or five shots of liquor within one glass are commonly sold as specials.

Sgt. Scott Friedline, in charge of alcohol enforcement at the Champaign Police Department, has noticed bars now sell more distilled spirits than they have in past decades. “These drinks are tastier and sweeter than beer, which draws in younger drinkers, mostly girls,” he said.

“Twenty-first birthdays scare me to death,” Harned said. “The cultural norm that students have created to celebrate is so dangerous. I have heard of cases where students attempted to drink 21 shots in one night to celebrate.”

The college clich‚ of freedom and experimentation is unavoidable on college campuses, Sandstrom said. College drinking drenches the media in popular movies such as Old School and Animal House. Students assume it’s just part of the experience, she added.

“I’ve found that even parents assume their underage daughters and sons are drinking while at school,” said Richard Justice, Associate Dean of Students. “It’s just what we link with college.”

Though going away to college and drinking are two linked notions, is it fair to rationalize binge drinking at the University? Compared to the 61 percent of UIUC students that have binged within the last two weeks of taking the Core Drug and Alcohol Survey in 2004, the national average amounted to only 50 percent.

Ilene Harned said that the University is a major drinking school for reasons outside the University’s control. Bars in Champaign allow 19-year-old students in, which leads to a campus nightlife centered on drinking.

Harned also pointed out that the University has the largest Greek system in the country. Fraternity houses are scattered throughout campus, opening their doors on weekends and luring in students with bathtubs and kegs overflowing with alcohol.

“Sororities and fraternities are not a bad thing, but they are overrun with alcohol,” Sandstrom, an advisor for a sorority on campus, said.

Drinking is so acculturated on campus that illegal alcohol consumption by underage students is often overlooked.

“It’s fair to say that if students in the dorms are drinking ‘responsibly’-that is, quietly with the door shut-we will let it go to some extent,” Sandstrom said. The majority of students in the residence hall Sandstrom directs are freshmen and sophomores, nearly all under 21 years of age.

Tony Ortiz, Crime Prevention Coordinator of the University Police, said that campus officers deal primarily with helping intoxicated students rather than punishing them. The University Police are most concerned with their physical condition. They emphasize the welfare of the students more than enforcement, he said.

Because of budget cuts, the Student Service Center disciplinary staff has been reduced by one-third, leaving two deans available to speak with students.

“We used to interact with all the students who got in trouble because of alcohol,” Justice said. “Now we let the ones with simple alcohol violations go.”

Sandstrom, Ortiz and Justice all said that they think binge drinking is declining on campus.

“This campus has changed in the last few years. Non-drinking students are becoming more vocal and joining in larger groups,” Sandstrom said.

The results of the Core Drug and Alcohol Survey conflict with observations of declining binge drinking at the University. The study found that in 2001, 42 percent of University students engaged in binge drinking. That statistic rose to 60.8 percent in 2004.

“Obviously, binge drinking is alarming. Most discipline issues I deal with are a result of heavy drinking,” Justice said. “Binge drinking strips you of your judgment, like enamel taken off your teeth. Once that coating is gone, the substance just deteriorates.”

Nearly all sexual assaults and fights on campus involve heavy alcohol use, Officer Ortiz said. The Core Drug and Alcohol Survey studied consequences of alcohol and drug use. It reported that in 2004, 37.6 percent of University students had gotten into a fight or argument, and 9.4 percent had been taken advantage of sexually.

The problem of binge drinking on campus is never-ending.

“No matter what work is done on students, there is always a new class of freshmen coming in,” Justice said. “Binge drinking here is my job security.”