BY APRILL EMIG | The Statesman
Look around.
Three out of every four students who pass by have had alcohol in the past thirty days. One in seven have driven a car while under the influence. Nearly 2,000 students die every year in the U.S. from alcohol related accidents.
UMD is a dry campus during the school year, but that doesn’t stop parties from taking place on our 244 acres. There were 22 alcohol violations reported in October.
“I don’t hear students talking about partying that much, except for getting minors,” junior Dani Smilanich said. “That’s mostly what I hear about: getting minors.”
Underage students can get an alcohol violation in two ways: consumption and possession. If a student is of age, they will be referred to the office of student conduct for violating university policy.
UMD is one of only three colleges in Minnesota with a police force, which might make students especially worried about seeking help in an alcohol-related emergency.
“It seems like with a dry campus people are hiding the fact that they’re drunk because they don’t want to get into trouble,” sophomore Paige Bebus said.
But Lt. Sean Huls, the interim director of UMD Police, says this fear is unnecessary.
“We’ve typically not issued citations for people who’ve called for help,” Huls said. “The safety of our students and community is most important.”
Huls referred to the medical amnesty law that was passed in Minnesota in 2013. It grants “amnesty” to underage drinkers who call for help if someone had too much to drink.
“I’ve been here for fifteen years and we’ve always done this,” Huls said. “We used to call it the ‘good samaritan principle.’”
However, drinking to the point of blacking out isn’t only dangerous in the immediate event. Heavy drinking in college is normalized to a point where students may not know they have a problem.
“It’s one thing to have a bad night, but we need to watch out for patterns,” said chemical health educator Lauretta Perry. “If you’re repeatedly blacking out or getting violations, that may be a problem.”
There’s a common stereotype of an alcoholic being an adult who drinks all day, everyday. But alcohol dependency can come in many forms.
“Students gathering and partying with the intent of being social is fine,” Perry said. “But when you’re not making it to Friday class because of ‘thirsty Thursday,’ or it’s interfering with your job or relationships, that’s a red flag.
UMD is now hosting Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on campus and Health Services has always been available for students who have concerns.
But what if the student developing a problem is a friend or roommate? Perry says the best way to approach them is from a point of concern and to give specifics.
“It’s common for people to get defensive,” Perry said. “But if you’re as specific as possible--‘you didn’t make it to class the past three Fridays’--it makes the case less subjective than simply saying you think they have a problem.”
Perry also recommends thinking about what Duluth has to offer that doesn’t involve alcohol.
“A lot of students come here for the outdoors,” Perry said. “Sure, it gets cold, but you can go to the symphony and a comedy show in the same night. That’s pretty incredible.”
Freshman Erica Oropeza doesn’t drink and despite UMD’s reputation for being a party school, she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out.
“I don’t have friends who drink so we all just hang out and play video games,” Oropeza said.
Paige Bebus agreed.
“If you’re into drinking, that’s cool and if not, that’s also cool,” she said. “It’s not a forced thing.”
Lt. Huls added that students should avoid underage drinking, but should be safe regardless.
“Just be a responsible consumer.”