Schools look to programs to cut substance abuse

While the University's Binge Drinking Committee is set to announce the results of its campus survey this morning, some high schools and universities across the country are already going to great lengths to prevent students from going overboard with their new-found college freedom.

Ann Arbor Huron High School Guidance Counselor Armethia Sims, formerly the school's substance abuse advisor, said schools don't often look at college-bound students as having substance abuse problems.

"When a student is getting A's and B's, there isn't a reason to be concerned. But if a student is failing school, substance abuse is considered. It's then left up to colleges to intervene, and they often are not prepared," Sims said.

Sims said she believes that students who have not started drinking by the time they get to college are not likely to begin. "The average substance abuser begins by age 11," she said. Even so, Sims said she wishes more college preparatory programs were geared toward substance abuse.

"I don't think there's enough of it, " she said.

J.O. Delancey, a senior at Huron, said he thinks it's easier for teens to abuse substances in college.

"Being away from home, you don't have to put as much effort into hiding stuff from your parents," Delancey said. "It's a lot easier to access."

Helen Gutierres, assistant director of Alcohol and Drug Education at Notre Dame University, said the school implemented a mandatory intensive program for its first-year students this year. The program, presented during the first two-and-a-half weeks of the school year, consists of watching a 17-minute video made for the school and discussion about the video's message.

Gutierres said she was very pleased with the video.

"It is very straight-forward. It shows healthy drinkers talking about their social life," she said.

This video replaces one that primarily used scare tactics to discourage underage students from drinking.

Students who do not participate in the program are forced to pay a $25 fine and are not allowed to go to any campus dances. This has resulted in near-perfect attendance.

Gutierres emphasizes the importance of the Notre Dame program taking place at the beginning of the academic year.

"If you don't get to them right away, so much experience can make the information feel like its old," she said.

Preliminary results of the program, Gutierres said, have

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