Alcohol visits to Parton decline

Author: Scott Greene

Alcohol-related visits to Parton Health Center have dropped to the level of two years ago after last year's record highs. Overall, Parton has seen a decrease in the total number of medical cases despite a steady increase in visits to the Counseling and Human Relations Center over the past five years, according to Health Center administrators.

The medical staff at both Parton Health Center and Porter Hospital has treated 56 drunk students so far this term, compared with 72 at the same time last year. Of the 56, only five were not admitted at either of the two locations. A breakdown of these visits by class year reveals that first-years and sophomores account for 70 percent of the total, with 24 and 16 visits respectively.

"First of all, last year we had the highest number of visits to the Health Center that we have ever had," Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson said. "This year's number is more in line with other years." Administrators were cautious, however, not to read too much into the change.

"Those numbers don't indicate or prove anything to us as far as what the drinking behaviors are out on the campus," Associate Director of the Health Center Terry Jenny said. "There's virtually no correlation between the two."

Though any decrease is good, according to Dean of the College Tim Spears, such numbers prove more indicative of student behavior if measured over the course of an entire year.

"That kind of record is not statistically persuasive or significant until we can look at the whole year as a package," Spears said. "If that trend continues and we end up the year down 25 to 30 percent, then that's good news."

Spears added that the recent devolution of the College's social scene away from on-campus partying may also have an effect on the total numbers, because partying off-campus makes it less convenient for a student to go down to the Health Center.

"I'd love to be able to say that those statistics indicate an upsurge in responsible drinking, but I don't want to go that far," he said.

Hanson echoed Spears' cautiousness, saying that it is unlikely such a trend would cause the College to rethink its alcohol policy.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that students are making better choices," she said. "We want students to be educated about the services that the Health Center has to offer, and a higher number of visits may only indicate that students are being cautious and getting checked out after drinking, not that they are drinking more or less."

Alcohol-related visits form only a small portion of the total visits received by the Health Center each year. Total visits have also declined compared to the same point last year, down from 1,989 to 1,833.

On the other hand, visits to the College's Counseling Center seem to be roughly on par with those of a year ago, when counselors saw a total of 399 students. Still, total numbers have grown steadily since the early 1990's, a rise that has been maintained over the past five years, according to the Center's Assistant Director Virginia Logan.

The most common causes of visits are stress, relationship issues, depression and anxiety, and a majority of students who seek help are first-years and seniors.

"It has to do with the transition in and the transition out. Both of those are really tough transitions," Logan said. "I've been doing this work over 25 years, and I've never worked anywhere where there's such a wide range of issues." She added that by the time each senior class graduates, the Counseling Center has seen between 33 and 40 percent of students in that class at least once during their four years at the College.

The rise in visits to the Counseling Center does not necessarily indicate that more students are having psychological health issues, however, but rather speaks to the success of recent outreach efforts.

"I think the main reason in the last five years is that we've tried to reach out more and educate students about counseling, let them know that we're here and we see a lot of Middlebury students," Logan said.

Hanson agreed. "I think the increase in numbers there speaks to the confidence students have in the Counseling Center as a place to go to address concerns," she said.

Jenny said that similar efforts by the Health Center this year could possibly explain the drop in alcohol-related visits, as the College's Director of Health and Wellness Education, Alicia Battle, has strengthened the College's education program.