weekend Michigan State University’s independent voice | statenews.com East Lansing, Mich. | Friday, February 15, 2013
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A common activity on college campuses could lead to major issues By Darcie Moran morandar@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
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t started in middle school when she stole a bottle of her parents’ whiskey. It ended in a visit to the emergency room after her sister found her drunk in the bathtub, preparing to cut herself with a knife to escape the pain. For James Madison College senior Jillian Matthews, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, alcohol isn’t just a way to relax or let loose with friends on the weekend — it’s a path to destruction. “People drink until they hit that point where there’s absolutely nowhere to go,” said Matthews, a recovering alcoholic. “I got to such a place literally there was no other solution. I had to accept that I can’t drink anymore.” Matthews is part of a small percentage of students at MSU
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I got to such a place, literally there was no other solution. I had to accept that I can’t drink anymore. Jillian Williams,
James Madison senior
who deal with alcoholism, but some of her symptoms are common to a wider range of college students. People age 18 to 22 enrolled full time in college were more likely than their counterparts not enrolled full time to drink alcohol, according to a 2010 survey by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nine percent of students evaluated at the MSU Counseling Center had symptoms of alcohol
abuse and 1 percent had symptoms of dependency, Substance Abuse Counselor Robert Eubanks said in an email. He added not all students with substance abuse or dependency issues are accounted for in those statistics. “The biggest misperception relative to alcoholism is contained in our mental image of what a problem drinker or alcoholic ‘looks like;’ usually this image is of an older male, perhaps homeless, unloved, unkept, disheveled,” Eubanks said. “Alcoholics or problem drinkers in reality, have jobs, head up households and too often are ‘attractive’ college students.” Starting young Based on Matthews’ age, many people might not believe she is an alcoholic. Matthews started drinking at a young age, between seventh and eighth grade — something fairly common among alcoholics, said Alcohol Drug Education Program Owner and Executive Director Frank Thrush. “I see that there’s a lot of denial in regard to it,” Thrush said of his college-aged clients. “Students identify (drinking) more as a social thing.” See DRINKING on page 2 X
Bella
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XXX ILLUSTRATIONS BY DREW DZWONKOWSKI | SN