The number of emergency transports due to alcohol-related incidences has significantly risen at Syracuse University in the past year.

Benjamin Domingo, director of Health Services at SU, said the department received more than 70 calls by October, which was close to the total number of calls placed last year.

‘Statistics that we’ve run show that a lot of these were, quite frankly, in freshmen,’ Domingo said. ‘We’ve noticed that the majority of our calls are really 18- and 19-year-olds. Once you get above that there really aren’t that many.’

Domingo said that so far this year, they have received 93 calls, 82 of which were handled by the SU Ambulance service and 58 of which were on campus. Of the calls responded to, 48 percent came from males and 50 percent came from females, Domingo said.

Meredith Doty, a sophomore illustration major, said she thinks freshmen overdrink because they don’t know their own limits yet.

‘They don’t have much experience with drinking in such a large party scene so they go a little crazy and think they can handle more than they actually can,’ she said.

SU’s numbers support the most recent Mayo Clinic study, published Feb. 15. The study found that the average age of alcohol-related hospitalizations is 18 years old, 61 percent of them male. The highest frequency of incidences was found in the Northeast and Midwest. The lowest number of incidences was found in the South.

Natalie Garland, a freshman anthropology major, said she was made aware of two incidences involving alcohol-related hospitalizations in the past month.

‘A guy I know was hazed this past weekend, and a girl just got really drunk, I think in her dorm because there weren’t any good parties and she was bored,’ she said. ‘I was really shocked and worried initially, then more thankful they were OK and made it to the hospital.’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines heavy drinking as consuming an average of two or more drinks a day for men and one or more drinks a day for women.

Critical signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning include vomiting, seizures, irregular breathing, hypothermia and coma, among others, according to Mayo Clinic.

After an emergency call from the Department of Public Safety, depending on the severity of the student’s condition, SUA will arrive on the scene to provide necessary transport. An unconscious student requires Advanced Life Support services with the local ambulance, Domingo said.

Domingo said he is skeptical whether to attribute the higher amount of hospitalizations to the sociocultural expectation freshmen feel obliged to uphold or to the general perception of SU as a party school.

David Sperino, a sophomore sport management major, said freshmen overdrink and ‘go nuts’ due to the lifestyle change they encounter upon entering college.

‘It’s really easy to get drunk and drink a ton, so they do and forget there are limits to drinking,’ he said. ‘Part of it is pressure-based, but I think the environment is the biggest thing.’

The Student Association at SU, together with the administration, is currently working to implement a new medical amnesty policy to the university’s Code of Student Conduct.

‘(The administration) has come to the conclusion that an intoxicated individual is not only a danger to themselves, but may be dangerous to others as well,’ said Dylan Lustig, SA president. ‘They have decided that for an intoxicated student being transported, the first incident will result in a judicial reprimand.’

As part of the prospective changes to the policy, judicial consequences will only be enforced after a first-time offense. Third offenses will result in student suspension.

‘We want to encourage those to call and to stick by a friend without leaving their side,’ Lustig said. ‘The new policy is on its way to do just that.’

jbdermer@syr.edu 

Published on February 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm