Hofstra sees spike in hospital transports on Halloween

By Alexi CohanSTAFF WRITER During Halloween weekend, 13 students were transported to the hospital due to heavy intoxication that happened in conjunction with off-campus parties, according to Public Safety. “Unfortunately [that] weekend we saw an increase in the number of students needing to be transported to the hospital [from the average weekend],” Karen O’Callaghan, director of public safety said. This was in regards to what college students across the nation call “Halloweekend.” Many students down bottles of alcohol every weekend and head out to bars or parties; college drinking is widespread and Hofstra is no exception, as last weekend’s events demonstrated. The festive nights called for heightened security and caution for Public Safety and local officials. For holidays like Halloween, alcohol consumption and partying are much more popular in comparison to other weekends as bars see lines wind around the block and police breaking up parties. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about four out of five college students drink alcohol and half of those students take part in binge drinking. Additionally, each year nearly 2,000 college students die from alcohol-related, unintentional injuries and more than 97,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual abuse or rape, the institute claims. Drinking also causes academic issues; 25 percent of college students report academic problems as consequence of their drinking. At Hofstra, students like junior drama and dance major Noah Smith are alarmed most at the number of deaths that occur each year. “People need to realize their own limits,” he said. However Smith is not completely against drinking. “I don’t think drinking needs to stop. I think what needs to stop is everyone thinking they can drink however much they want and be fine. It isn’t embarrassing to say no to a drink if you know you can’t drink anymore,” he said. Claudia Andrade, Hofstra’s director of student advocacy and prevention, suggested that high-risk areas for alcohol consumption are off-campus bars and parties. “Halloween is one of the highest-risk days for universities across this particular country, due to the level of intoxication combined with wearing a costume, which gives some students the idea that they can embody the costume instead of maintaining their own values,” she said. O’Callaghan said that extra Public Safety officers were on duty to assist students. She explained one of the main obstacles in keeping students safe. “The drunk students themselves … because of their altered mental state, they may be combative and are unaware of their surroundings.” she said. Hofstra has an amnesty policy that is employed on campus regarding alcohol consumption. It states that students who need help for themselves or others will not be risking their records even if they are in violation of the university’s alcohol policy. “First and foremost, we get the student the medical help they need. Because of the amnesty program, we do not issue them any notices to appear before the conduct board. But the cases are followed up by student affairs staff in terms of outreach and alcohol awareness education and assistance,” O’Callaghan said. Nov. 3 was National Alcohol Screening Day, which took place in the Student Center. This event is run by the Office of Student Advocacy and Prevention and occurs once a semester. Students have the option to get screened, which involves taking a questionnaire of about five questions. This is used to determine the student’s risk levels and their potential blood alcohol content. Depending on the results, students may be mandated to come back into the office for counseling. This event was run by Andrade, who said any student could come for screening whether they were worried about their drinking habits or just curious to find out what the screening would say. Keeping the campus safe is the mission of the Department of Public Safety regardless of what time of year it is. Alcohol awareness will continue to be an important topic to students as well as Public Safety officers in order to ensure wellness for all.