04 April 2012

College Students Now Being Screened for Alcoholism

Students at Cornell and 31 other colleges and universities are being screened for alcoholism as a part of a routine visit to the health center.  Men are being asked if they had more than five drinks in a sitting in the last two weeks, and women are being asked if they had more than four.  If they answer yes, they are sent to a health counselor or to AA. (Cornell also does depression screening.) Some students wonder why they are being asked about their drinking habits, when all they need is an antibiotic. The schools say that it is no more invasive than asking if the students smoke, and they are trying to get a handle on underage drinking. They are not reporting underage drinkers to the police.

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posted by hiikeeba at 10:30

2 Comments:

Anonymous Owen Lowe said...

It’s a good thing that there are school programs like this, that screen students for alcoholism. I hope schools can impose stricter rules in admitting students who are involved with alcoholism. Doing this can discourage students from becoming alcohol dependents and can motivate them to concentrate more with their studies.

5:15 PM  
Blogger hiikeeba said...

While I understand where you're coming from, I don't think you can discriminate against someone like that. In general, students develop their drinking habits after they're admitted to college. And I think asking about someone's drinking habits while being treated for a sprained ankle obtained walking between classes would warrant alcohol screening, much less mandatory alcohol classes.

6:22 PM  

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