Alcohol at U.Del.: 1 dead, 37 hospitalized in '04

[hoosier]

Students duck efforts to fight alcohol
UD sometimes feels like it's a losing battle
By RYAN CORMIER / The News Journal
10/31/2004
After five talks during freshman orientation about binge drinking and the University of Delaware's alcohol policy, Greg Newman wasn't sure what to expect once he settled into his dorm.
He didn't have to wonder too long.
One of the first nights on campus, several students in his dorm pulled out bottles of alcohol they had brought from home and a room-to-room "pub-crawl" began. The party ended in the early morning with several students vomiting.
"That night was crazy," said Newman, 18.
Nine years after the university began battling binge drinking and the "culture of alcohol" on campus with the help of $1.2 million in grants, booze is regularly finding its way into the hands of underage students. Last month, an intoxicated UD freshman was struck by a train and killed. Earlier this month, the university reported a 30 percent increase in alcohol poisonings on campus.
Administrators and students agree: Even as the campaign against underage drinking shows some positive results, it's still not very hard for students younger than 21 to get - and drink - alcohol on and around campus. They're turning to older students, bringing alcohol from home and traveling to nearby Maryland liquor stores, where they believe enforcement is more lax.
And anecdotal evidence shows that more students are turning to hard liquor or even grain alcohol over beer, something that concerns UD administrators.
Party school
In the mid-'90s, the University of Delaware wasn't known as a "party school" for nothing.
Freshmen found they could slip into bars as easily as they could skip a 7 a.m. class. Fraternities were nearly "functioning saloons," as school administrators say. And homecoming was an alcohol-fueled celebration, the biggest party of the year - every year.
But after grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation began rolling in, things changed.
Freshmen now say going into a Newark bar with a fake ID is likely to result in confiscation of the ID - or arrest. Rules scale back alcohol use in fraternities and sororities. Homecoming tailgating has been limited.
At the same time, the drinking culture remains. A 22-ounce Bud Light costs $2 at Grotto Pizza on Main Street. In the university's bookstore, shot glasses are sold with a grinning YoUDee mascot on the front running with a football. And on any weekend night, the alcohol flows at students' choice of parties.
So far this year, 37 students were hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. (The number remains unchanged from earlier in the month, making the number of alcohol poisonings about equal to this time last year, university officials said.)
And on Sept. 12, 18-year-old Rachel Payne was struck and killed by a train near Chapel Street after leaving a fraternity party. It was later reported that her blood-alcohol level was 0.23, almost three times the point at which adults over 21 are considered intoxicated.
She had been drinking vodka she carried in a water bottle.
In alcohol-related cases on campus, beer is no longer public enemy No. 1 for law enforcement. Liquor's price and mobility make it a popular choice.
"Very rarely is it just beer itself," said Lawrence Thornton Jr., chief and director of public safety at UD.
The shift to stronger drinks may be contributing to the number of alcohol poisonings, he said. "I don't know for sure, but I suspect it has something to do with it."
A lot of students drink the "cheapest, crappiest vodka you can buy," Newman said. Others have moved on to high-proof alcohol to get more bang for their buck.
"The great debate is food or booze," Newman said. "Do I get chicken or do I get drunk?"
UD, Newark team up
In 1997, at the beginning of the push against binge drinking, 87 percent of students said it was "easy" or "very easy" to get alcohol. Last year, that number stood nearly unmoved, at 86 percent.
For underage students, the crusade has effectively excluded bars as a possible source of alcohol. They've been replaced by off-campus houses, dorms and fraternity houses, students said. Even so, it was announced this week that The Ground Floor, a popular bar on North College Avenue, was voluntarily giving up its license on or before Nov. 29 because of pending charges of selling to underage customers.
Surveys show and underage students said they get alcohol by using fake IDs, asking older students to buy it or even bringing it to campus after weekend trips home.
A change in UD procedure has helped keep underage students (and their fake IDs) out of Newark liquor stores. Under an agreement begun in late 1996 between the university and Newark police, the university's judicial branch is notified if a student is convicted of driving under the influence, using a fake ID or breaking the zero-tolerance law.
Last year, 253 alcohol violations were passed on to the university by Newark police.
But students believe they have a way to bypass the partnership and reduce the chances of being caught: driving down Elkton Road to the cluster of liquor stores just across the state line. Being off campus and in an area that some believe has less vigilant enforcement makes students feel at ease.
"I wouldn't even try to go in a liquor store in Delaware," said sophomore Michele Gipp, 19. Gipp has not bought alcohol at Maryland stores, but plenty of her friends have.
Delaware Alcohol & Tobacco Enforcement Director Donald Bowman knows all about it. "[Students] aren't going there to study," he deadpanned.
UD officials have tried to pressure Maryland to increase enforcement. John Bishop, the university's point man in the fight against alcohol abuse, said he has tried to talk with Cecil County officials about the problem, but gets the cold shoulder.
"Basically, the message is, 'It's not our problem,' " said Bishop, associate vice president of the Center for Counseling and Student Development.
Unlike Delaware, Maryland allows counties to enforce their own alcohol regulations, instead of having a statewide watchdog.
Earl Bradford, Cecil County's chief alcohol and beverage inspector, said his inspectors do monthly checks at liquor stores. He also said state police do regular checks - the last was in August 2003, he said.
Bradford said store owners are doing the best they can.
"You see UD students going in and out all the time. I'm not saying they don't get [alcohol], but they're smart."
Marcella Murray-Lockwood, co-owner of State Line Liquors in Cecil County, said she and her employees are as vigilant as possible, using computerized machines to check IDs.
"We couldn't afford to even be closed a day for doing something like that," she said. "This is a family business."
A difficult fight
Bishop points out that statistics show that the overwhelming majority of Delaware high school students have consumed alcohol even before they reach college. For those who haven't, students say, the instant freedom of college can change habits.
At the opening-night dorm party Newman attended, there was a mixture of students - some were drinkers; others had stayed away from alcohol in high school.
"There were plenty of people who had never done such a thing," he said. "A lot of kids prepped for college by bringing a bottle of alcohol."
Gipp said some high school friends have actually cut back in college, while some occasional drinkers turned into regular drinkers.
Bishop said the real battle is fighting against the alcohol industry and advertisements. In the mid-'90s, you could find a happy hour on Main Street at every hour of every day. One even had a Monday morning happy hour with a sign reading, "The weekend's not over yet," he said.
If Newark bars would keep their prices up, it might deter some of the destructive behavior, Bishop said.
The bars have refused, Bishop said, because they fear their customers would go elsewhere.
After a rough opening to the school year, the public safety director said he does not feel demoralized. But the battle does feel endless at times.
"Sometimes, honestly, I do feel that way, but I think we are really making progress," Thornton said. "I haven't given up."

[hoosier]

Fraternity responsible, activist says
By MICHELE BESSO / The News Journal
10/28/2004
A University of Delaware fraternity should be held responsible for the death of an underage student who was struck by a train Sept. 12 after leaving a fraternity party, the director of a group that advocates responsible use of alcohol said Wednesday.
The body of UD freshman Rachel Payne, 18, was discovered on the railroad trestle over Chapel Street near Cleveland Avenue at 6:25 a.m. Payne's blood-alcohol content was 0.236 percent, nearly three times the legal limit, according to toxicology reports.
A medical examiner ruled that Payne died of blunt trauma and acute alcohol intoxication. She was last seen around 1:30 a.m. at a party at the Alpha Tau Omega house on Courtney Street.
"In my opinion, the fraternity that allowed the underage students to attend the party had a responsibility to ensure their safety, and I would not be surprised if others reach the same conclusion," said Tracy Downs, director of the Building Responsibility Coalition, a group formed after the university received a grant in 1996 to curb binge drinking.
The fraternity did not provide the alcohol to Payne and has not been charged, police said. Payne's roommates said the alcohol came from a friend who bought it at a liquor store.
Kevin Blair, 22, a senior and vice president of Alpha Tau Omega, said Wednesday he was "surprised and shocked" by what happened to Payne. He said the fraternity always checks student identification at the door and students under 21 get a stamp on their hands. He said it's hard to enforce because some people rub the stamps off once they are inside.
Christine McDonald, 18, one of Payne's two Pencader dorm roommates, said the fraternity never checked their identification.
McDonald said she and her roommates took their own alcohol into the party by pouring a bottle of vodka into plastic water bottles.
"We are not allowed to provide alcohol at our parties," Blair said. "If a minor comes in with alcohol, he or she is not allowed to drink it, but nobody saw Rachel that night. Brothers walk around to check on people, but there were 400 people there. It's hard to determine if someone is extremely intoxicated."
Blair said the fraternity would have provided a safe ride for Payne if she had asked.
Police believe Payne was walking home from the fraternity house in the early hours of Sept. 12 and got lost near the tracks. Newark Police Chief Gerald Conway said he's unsure whether Payne stopped anywhere else.
Officials said Payne was struck by a train about 3:24 a.m., nearly two hours after leaving the fraternity party.
Stacy Maloney, an 18-year-old UD sophomore, said she has attended various fraternity parties, including some at Alpha Tau Omega.
"The student is responsible, as much as the fraternity," she said. "If you're underage, you can still get drinks and the brothers don't walk around checking on you. In fact, they are the ones often encouraging you to drink."