Frat Boy News Exclusive: College Students Taking the Term "Higher" Education Literally

The Frat Boy News Daily College Column
By Pat Connelly, Co-Editor of The Frat Boy News

Here's a stunner from a study at Columbia University - Nearly half of all 5.4 million full-time college students in the United States spend at least one weekend a month either binge drinking or using drugs.

A report published in Thursday's USA Today says Columbia scientists are starting to become worried for America's youth as substance abuse and alcohol abuse are becoming increasingly popular on college campuses.

Alcohol seems to be the substance of choice for most college students, but students are also using prescription pills and marijuana to get their monthly fix, the study says. The study, performed by Columbia's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, took a survey of some 2,000 students and 400 campus administrators to find the "shocking" results.

The study found that white students are more inclined to binge activities, and that 22.9 percent of college students meet the criteria for the medical definition of alcohol or drug dependence or abuse

"It's not on the radar screen of college presidents. This is not a priority," Joseph Califano said, the president of the study committee. "We believe they have an obligation to protect the health and safety of their students."

Students everywhere seem to be making their chosen "extra-curricular activities" a priority. What the study didn't examine though may be most crucial. Last I heard, collective GPAs of all college students were reportedly higher than they have ever been before. If students are getting their work done in the classroom, doesn't that entitle them to do what they wish in their free time?

Pat Connelly is the co-edior of The Frat Boy News and a 2006 alumnus of Washington and Jefferson College's Gamma chapter of Delta Tau Delta.