PIONEER ATHLETES COMPETE IN SOCHI GAMES | Page 16 University of Denver student newspaper since 1899
Vol. 121, Issue 4
Campus binge drinking rates remain near record high levels Managing Editor
Number of students
After a record-high number of students were reported as being sent to hospitals and detoxification facilities last year, numbers have maintained their high levels this year, prompting concern from DU’s administration. According to Sgt. Stephen Banet of the Department of Campus Safety (DCS), there were 19 students sent to the hospital for alcohol overconsumption from September 2013 through January 2014, and 53 students sent to detoxification facilities. This continues a trend begun last year of significantly higher numbers of students requiring transport off-campus for medical care due to alcohol over-consumption. The numbers are at similar levels to those seen from September 2012 to January of 2013, when 55 cases of students sent to detox were reported along with 28 hospital visits. Though Banet said he was happy to see the number of students sent to the hospital go down, he said the numbers are
still raising alarms. “We as a university have a long way to go in providing services,” he said, specifically citing a need for more alternative activities on campus. Director of Emergency Medicine at Denver Health Chris Colewell said he has also seen a rise in the students coming to their emergency room for treatment. “The amount of binge drinking, which you do see on college campuses, is certainly from our impression on the high side coming from DU,” he said. Colewell said he has seen a gradual increase in students coming to the emergency department for treatment over the past five to 10 years, and has seen a change in attitude towards drinking come
as part of the shift. “There seems to be a very unconcerned kind of approach to it,” Colewell said. “I think the almost laissez-faire attitude of the students concerns me so much more, I don’t think they consider how dangerous it is.” Numbers over the past two years; in particular, have skyrocketed according to annual DCS reports. In 2011 95 students were sent to detox, which saw a 21 percent rise to 115 in 2012. In 2013, 107 students were transported to detox for alcohol consumption. “I am convinced that we are seeing more and more long-term alcohol issues, and its is not an uncommon way for it to start,” said Colewell. This year, the university began looking at solutions through some campus initiatives, some of which were recently addressed by university administration. Last Friday, Provost Gregg Kvistad addressed the issue in an annual academic conference that focuses on a different topic each year. Due to the administration’s concern, the focus this year was on the numbers of alcohol abuse reported on campus, featuring presentations from local and national experts. “What was presented … from one of our experts is that on many different variables, DU students’ drinking patterns are much worse than similar schools around the country,” said Health and Counseling Center (HCC) Director Alan Kent. “There are a higher number of students engaging in risk drinking and binge drinking,” said Kent. Kent said the report compared DU’s drinking rates with those of similarly sized private universities such as American University, Boston University and the University of Miami. The HCC works towards prevention of student over-consumption of alcohol through drinking habit assessments and counseling with advisers on students’ drinking patterns. SEE continued, PAGE 5
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QUOTABLE
by sarah ford
feb. 5, 2014
www.duclarion.com
Men’s hoops splits games
gusto kubiak
| clarion
Sophomore Guard Nate Engesser dribbles the ball during the weekend’s games against South Dakota State.
SEE toss-up, PAGE 15
Chancellor search gets underway by lanna giauque News Editor
A search committee, formed to find a replacement for Chancellor Robert Coombe after he officially steps down from his position at the end of this school year, will meet for the second time this week, when it will finalize the Chancellor position description and requirements. Douglas Scrivner, who is the Chairelect of the DU Board of Trustees, is also chair of the search committee. He says the next steps the committee plans to take include advertising the position, soliciting DU community input about the position, narrowing down the candidates to finalists, bringing those finalists to campus and then choosing the new Chancellor, who Scrivner says the Board of Trustees plans to have in place in June. According to Scrivner, the 13-member search committee was chosen by a small group using input of the DU Faculty Senate and under parameters approved by the
Board of Trustees. While diversity was stressed as an important part of selection for the committee, Scrivner says selection was based on more complex factors as well. “We were looking for people who understand the university well, understand the issues that we face and will be able to do the kind of evaluation and assessment to make a recommendation in the best interest of the university,” he said. Scrivner says the position will be advertised, but nominations for the position will be accepted along with applications. “It’s the kind of search where we will go out and actively recruit,” he said. According to Scrivner, this means the committee will take recommendations, but will also seek out applications from people who may be strong candidates but who may otherwise not be actively looking for a position. For this reason, he said the candidates involved in the process will remain anonymous until the finalists have been selected.
“Didn’t your friend Agamemnon, the one who tries to ride a Penny Farthing, apply for that job last year? LIFESTYLES | Page 9
SEE committee, PAGE 2
$700K Money spent on the new sturm hall elevator