Sydney Newton
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Editor’s note: This story is a part of today’s drug issue.

There’s a bit of change in Iowa City when we have gorgeous weather. Spirits are happier, it seems everyone is outside, and people drink more often. Around this time of the year, students also become more stressed, which could lead to binge drinking and an increase in the use of drugs.

A survey done on drug and alcohol use last year that compares the University of Iowa undergraduates with undergraduates across the nation found some indications to back this up. The survey, conducted  by the American College Health Association, found that students on our campus are more likely to use marijuana, more likely to drink alcohol, and more likely to engage in high-risk drinking and experience negative consequences.

However, when compared only with past UI results, overall alcohol use has declined: 74.1 percent reported using alcohol “in the last 30 days” in 2015, compared with 85.2 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, marijuana use is increasing: 30.3 percent of students reported using marijuana in the same time frame in 2015, while only 26.6 percent did in 2009. With our university’s reputation for being a big party school, we typically think of the excessive use of alcohol. While this is true, the use of drugs is still very prevalent.

Last month, in a study done by the University of Alabama, researchers found that an estimated 1,825 college students ages 18-24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries each year, including motor-vehicle collisions. They also reported that one-third of students engage in binge drinking monthly.

Binge drinking tends to not be taken seriously because most students don’t know how bad it can actually get. Approximately 1 in 4 students nationally reported having academic consequences from drinking, says the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse.

More alcohol-fueled get-togethers take place earlier in the day when the weather is this nice in Iowa City. But, as on all college campuses, day drinking can have negative effects. When students are outside drinking all day and then into the night, there’s a bigger chance for more arrests. Large gatherings of students are also prone to police involvement.

According to an annual police report, there were 655 alcohol-related incidents on the UI campus in 2015. Most of these were intoxicated subjects in public, citations for underage people being in bars after hours, PAULA, and unlawful use of a driver’s license. 

The UI police also reported that there were 161 drug offenses in 2015. With the number of arrests and police involvement that involve alcohol, it’s easy to say that alcohol is more of an issue than drug use on our campus.

The Alabama study also reported that, on a national level, 696,000 students between the ages of 18-24 are assaulted every year by another student who has been drinking. And 97,000 students report experiencing alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape each year.

There are obvious statistics to show that the effects and use of alcohol on college campuses is extremely harmful and dangerous. The evidence of drug-related effects is either not being talked about enough, or there simply aren’t enough incidents to report on. Given these statistics, it’s important that those of us at the UI and others around the nation put a larger focus on the dangerous effects of alcohol.