JAIMIE FRANKLIN
News Assistant
“Tipsy Tuesdays” may be facing their demise after a recent report issued by the Pepperdine Counseling Center revealed a relationship between binge drinking among Pepperdine students and easy class schedules on Wednesdays and Fridays.
After reviewing results from a study completed earlier this semester and suggestions made by an expert consultant, Pepperdine administrators are now considering making changes to class schedules to curb excessive drinking on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
According to Dean of Students Mark Davis, an administrative task force is in the review stage to determine whether or not more classes should be scheduled Wednesday and Friday mornings. A proposal is expected before the end of the semester. However, Davis said changes would not be implemented earlier than the 2009-2010 school year.
A survey was issued online in January to all Seaver students in Malibu and International Programs on issues ranging from drinking and drug habits to sexual practices. More than 750 responses were received out of all Seaver students that were asked to complete the survey.
The survey is conducted every two to three years by the university as a means to stay in touch with student life on and off campus.
Beginning in 1997, Pepperdine participated in a survey conducted by Harvard University, who stopped administering the survey in 2004. This year, Pepperdine has now begun using the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment (NCHA).
Survey questions ask students to report on their drinking, drug and sexual habits, and to estimate the habits of an average student at their university.
Pepperdine’s statistics on binge drinking, defined as having more than five drinks in one sitting, is significantly lower than the national average.
According to the NCHA, national averages for frequent binge drinking rank around 48 percent among men and 33 percent among women. At Pepperdine, rates stand at 35 percent among men and 21 percent among women.
However, administrators point out that Pepperdine is not an exception to the rule of college partying.
“Binge drinking is a national problem on college campuses, and while Pepperdine is not immune to these challenges, I’m thankful that we consistently rank significantly below the national average on our surveys,” Davis wrote in an e-mail. “However, I’m still concerned about every individual behind our lower statistics, and I want to encourage our campus community to work together toward reducing binge drinking and any behavior that puts our students and community at risk.”
While the NCHA did not specifically address class scheduling and student drinking habits, Davis referred to a study completed in the summer of 2007 at the University of Missouri which showed students who did not have an early morning class on Fridays drank approximately twice as much on Thursday nights as students who did have class.
These findings, coupled with an expert consultant’s report, have concerned administrators.
Dr. John Irvine, a nationally recognized expert on university alcohol issues, was hired to review Pepperdine’s Alcohol Education programming in March 2007, including environmental factors that contribute to alcohol problems on campus.
While he reported that the campus environment was healthy overall, a major problem he identified was the lack of early morning classes on Wednesdays.
“The decision to schedule classes in this manner has led to the unintended consequence that contributes to student drinking,” Irvine wrote in the report. “It seems reasonable to believe that a change in student obligations on Wednesday morning could have a quick and observable change in alcohol consumption.”
Dr. Robert Chandler, chair of the Communication Division, said he recalled a faculty department meeting in February in which the issue of student drinking habits and class scheduling was discussed.
Chandler said several faculty members were concerned with local restaurants and bars promoting Tuesday nights to take advantage of students’ lack of class on Wednesdays.
“I think that we ought to build the best schedule to maximize the educational process, and, if shrinking the number of obvious happy hour promotions helped the college meet its mission more effectively, then I think it is a very interesting idea and certainly worth mentioning and asking for comment,” Chandler said in an e-mail.
While faculty members remain concerned with curbing binge drinking and encouraging an alcohol and drug-free campus environment, many students feel the potential class schedule changes will be ineffective.
“I think it’s pretty ridiculous,” said sophomore Alissa Hayden. “Having Wednesdays off is a nice break during the week and even if they change the class schedule, people are still going to drink on other nights, regardless of whether or not they have class in the morning.”
Junior Nick Stewart agrees and expressed frustration with the administration’s focus on what he considers to be small issues, rather than decline in university ranking and the rising costs of tuition.
“This asinine policy is just another instance where the university cares more about appearances than reality,” Stewart said. “It won’t change anything except that students will show up to class hung-over.”
04-03-2008
