Spring Break
Spring break offers time for family, work and play
Whitney Johnson
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: News
For the next week many students will have the opportunity to escape the pressures of school, but some will face the pressures of partying and drinking as spring break arrives.
Underage drinking is the number one problem at Marshall University, said Prudy Barker, director of Judicial Affairs.
In a college spring break study conducted by the Nielsen Media Research on behalf of Anheuser-Busch, polling 1,299 students, 35 percent of the students surveyed planned to party while on spring break this year.
The sample of students came from the Survey Sampling International SurveySpot panel.
"The panel is recruited using banner ads and other online recruitment methods," as indicated on the study overview.
The study took place online from Feb. 15 to 24.
The study showed 33 percent of the students surveyed, ages 21 to 25, partied while on spring break last year.
Overall, 92 percent said they acted responsibly on spring break last year.
Participants were specifically asked "was the behavior of most college students during your last spring break responsible and safe or not?"
Including male, female, undergraduate and graduate participants, 1,260 students responded to the question. Almost 70 percent of the students did not think most college students acted responsibly.
"It is not as big an issue as students believe it is," said Carla Lapelle, associate dean of students.
The number of cases involving student drinking is not outstanding but it is the biggest problem that Marshall faces as far as issues involving student behavior, Barker said.
Most students said they planned to spend time with their family during spring break, instead of partying with friends.
Of the 1,299 responses, 61 percent of students would rather be with their families. Almost 50 percent plan to work over the break.
Lapelle said the reason drinking seems like a larger problem is because that is what students talk about because they are intersted in drinking.
More than half of Marshall students do not binge drink as indicated by information released by Marshall University Student Development.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Web site offers advice to parents and students. A guide for parents is available on the Web site explaining the importance to discuss college drinking with students before spring break.
"Drinking too much can mean trips to the emergency room, arrests, sexual assaults and putting themselves and their friends in real danger," as indicated on the NIAAA Web site.
The guide ends with a focus on alcohol poisoning. The signs of alcohol poisoning include vomiting, seizures, irregular breathing and mental confusion, as indicated in the guide.
More student responses to the Nielsen study are available at www.alcoholstats.com.
Whitney Johnson can be contacted at johnson253@marshall.edu.
Underage drinking is the number one problem at Marshall University, said Prudy Barker, director of Judicial Affairs.
In a college spring break study conducted by the Nielsen Media Research on behalf of Anheuser-Busch, polling 1,299 students, 35 percent of the students surveyed planned to party while on spring break this year.
The sample of students came from the Survey Sampling International SurveySpot panel.
"The panel is recruited using banner ads and other online recruitment methods," as indicated on the study overview.
The study took place online from Feb. 15 to 24.
The study showed 33 percent of the students surveyed, ages 21 to 25, partied while on spring break last year.
Overall, 92 percent said they acted responsibly on spring break last year.
Participants were specifically asked "was the behavior of most college students during your last spring break responsible and safe or not?"
Including male, female, undergraduate and graduate participants, 1,260 students responded to the question. Almost 70 percent of the students did not think most college students acted responsibly.
"It is not as big an issue as students believe it is," said Carla Lapelle, associate dean of students.
The number of cases involving student drinking is not outstanding but it is the biggest problem that Marshall faces as far as issues involving student behavior, Barker said.
Most students said they planned to spend time with their family during spring break, instead of partying with friends.
Of the 1,299 responses, 61 percent of students would rather be with their families. Almost 50 percent plan to work over the break.
Lapelle said the reason drinking seems like a larger problem is because that is what students talk about because they are intersted in drinking.
More than half of Marshall students do not binge drink as indicated by information released by Marshall University Student Development.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Web site offers advice to parents and students. A guide for parents is available on the Web site explaining the importance to discuss college drinking with students before spring break.
"Drinking too much can mean trips to the emergency room, arrests, sexual assaults and putting themselves and their friends in real danger," as indicated on the NIAAA Web site.
The guide ends with a focus on alcohol poisoning. The signs of alcohol poisoning include vomiting, seizures, irregular breathing and mental confusion, as indicated in the guide.
More student responses to the Nielsen study are available at www.alcoholstats.com.
Whitney Johnson can be contacted at johnson253@marshall.edu.
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