THE RESULTS ARE IN! A Report on the Findings from the Alcohol Survey Conducted in St. Louis by Mary Beth Golemo, Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist II and Michael Golemo, Kappa Kappa Psi National President
“Almost one-third (29%) of the “respondents said that their chapter — “or some members in that chapter — “has an alcohol abuse problem.”
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his past summer at the 1999 National Convention in St. Louis, following a workshop on alcohol use and abuse, a survey was distributed to members (students and some alumni) of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. This survey included questions concerning the impact and prevalence of alcohol on college campuses, and specifically as it relates to college band members and band programs. Over 500 students, representing all districts, responded to the survey. The following are some of the significant results: • Almost one-third (29%) of the respondents said that their chapter — or some members in that chapter — has an alcohol abuse problem. • Almost one-half (49%) of the respondents said that their band has an alcohol problem. • 68% said that their chapters do not do any education or awareness seminars, yet 72% know that their campuses have resources they could use to do these programs. • 87% said that the use of alcohol occurs on band trips— usually without the knowledge of the band director(s). The results of this survey indicate that the use and abuse of alcohol is prevalent among college band members. However, this is not to say that “Everyone drinks” or that everyone who drinks abuses alcohol. National statistics regarding alcohol use on college campuses provided by the Harvard School of Public Health show that… • One in six students do not drink at all. • 84% of students report that they drink alcohol.
28—The PODIUM, Spring 2000
• 44% of those students qualify as binge drinkers. Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks at a time for men; four or more drinks at a time for women. Some examples of alcohol abuse include: • Under-age drinking • Participating in drinking games • Drinking to the point of throwing up, passing out or blacking out • Missing class, work or some other commitment as a result of drinking Should you and your chapter be concerned about this issue? What can your chapter do to provide education and heighten awareness of this problem among your members and within your band program? What can the National Councils do to help? What is our responsibility as student leaders of college bands to lessen binge drinking and the abuse of alcohol among our peers? We suspect that many band directors are not aware of the severity of this problem. In addition to the aforementioned use of alcohol on band trips, a large number of students mentioned that both rehearsals and performances were missed regularly or greatly impacted due to alcohol use and abuse. Several respondents mentioned drinking in the stands during games along with the fact that band parties rarely occur without alcohol. What can our organizations do to help band directors better understand this issue and how it impacts their students and their program? The survey also asked for ideas on ways to begin to address this issue. The responses were excellent and included ideas and comments such as: 1. Many times the Policy on Controlled Substances and its “grayness” was referred to. Many chapters play games with, and some members have problems with the term “function.” Do we really need this phrase in the policy?
