As part of National Alcohol Awareness Week, the College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs is sponsoring a series of events, speeches and discussions promoting awareness and education about "Alcohol at Dartmouth and Beyond."
"There is no can of beer or bottle of wine that's going to tell you how much to use it or when to stop, like a bottle of aspirin or cough syrup," Janet Sims, chair of the CCAOD said.
"Because alcohol is legal in our society, students may use it a lot but don't know that it's a drug, that it can be toxic and have side effects," Sims said.
Sharon La Voy, chair of the Alcohol Awareness Week Committee, a sub-committee of the CCAOD, said the purpose of the week of activities is to "try to tease out what the issues are."
La Voy said the events will focus on education about alcohol as a drug and the prevalence of alcohol at the College, not on condemning students' drinking habits.
The committee, which planned most of the activities last summer, chose to focus on the ways alcohol affects students' lives both at the College and after graduation.
"We want to know if students have to change their attitudes and behaviors regarding alcohol after leaving the College," said La Voy.
Sims, who is assistant director of outreach and administration for the College's Health Services, said there has been a higher number of students checked into the infirmary with high blood alcohol levels recently.
"We had seven students hospitalized this past weekend, and it wasn't even Homecoming weekend," Sims said.
Coordinator of Student Programs Linda Kennedy said five students have been admitted to Dick's House with blood alcohol levels of over .20 so far this term.
Organizers of this week's events are "trying to make students realize that 'normal' behavior is not necessarily getting drunk," Kennedy said.
Kennedy cited a student survey last year that reported that 46.8 percent of Dartmouth students consume the equivalent of three drinks or less per week.
"That means that very close to one half of our students don't binge drink," Kennedy said.
Sims identified two main groups of students who drink on campus. "There are those who drink very little, and those who drink way more than is healthy. There's a perception on campus that there are the drinkers and the non-drinkers. It's not that simple," she said.
"We're not trying to use scare tactics. That's not useful," Sims said. "We're just trying to emphasize the fact that alcohol is a drug."
The first event of the week, held at Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority yesterday afternoon, was a discussion titled "Women and Alcohol Awareness," which focused on issues of gender in relation to alcohol on campus.
Two student films about the campus drinking climate will be shown in the Hyphen between Russell Sage and Butterfield dormitories at 7 p.m. tonight with a discussion to follow.
Women's and men's circle discussions will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening to discuss the drinking culture at Dartmouth. Women will convene in the North Massachusetts Hall lounge, and men in the South Mass lounge.
A panel called "Alcohol After Dartmouth," to be held in 105 Dartmouth Hall on Thursday night at 7 p.m., will examine how alcohol affects students after graduation, in the workplace and in graduate school.
The week of awareness and education will culminate in an alcohol-free celebration at Friday Night Dance Club, held from midnight to 3 a.m. in Webster Hall.
