2 OSU deaths bring focus on student drinking

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Student leaders are working to restore the reputation of Oregon State University after two deaths and a serious injury involving alcohol this year.

OSU appears no worse than others nationally, where studies show most students drink only moderately, if at all. But the increasing percentage of students who binge drink is raising concerns.

Last Monday, three OSU football players were charged with providing alcohol to 18-year-old Lance Strickland of Joseph, Ore., who was found dead in September in a dorm room with more than five times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

In May, a 22-year-old OSU senior hanged herself after leaving a houseboat party during the Shasta Lake weekend in Northern California. Later that month, a 20-year-old sophomore was paralyzed after diving into a shallow pool at an OSU fraternity party. Both incidents occurred at events where alcohol played a significant role.

Unfortunately, the latest alcohol-related incidents have "defined our culture. It's what we're beginning to be known for," said Dan McCarthy, the OSU student-body president.

The OSU student senate recently voted to spend student fees to hire a substance-abuse- prevention coordinator to strengthen campus efforts. Meanwhile, McCarthy has joined Greek-system leaders to eliminate the annual weekend of houseboat partying at Shasta Lake.

While recent events have put the spotlight on Corvallis, OSU students don't drink more or less than students nationally, said Eric Alexander, the prevention coordinator hired with student funds.

Nationally, about 60 percent of college students drink moderately or abstain, according to a 2002 study sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. But about 40 percent of students report frequent binge drinking — defined as five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more for women.