wednesday, february 18, 2004
news
the university daily kansan 3A
New study links binge drinking, rape
By Matt Rodriguez
mrdriguelz@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Alcohol-related sexual assault is a common problem among college students, according to a new joint study on how binge drinking correlates to rape.
The study showed that colleges with a higher rate of binge drinkers also had more rapes.
"Binge drinking isn't a harmless rite of passage but a risk factor in violence against women," said George W. Dowdall, a co-author of the study and professor of sociology at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
"Institutions of higher education need to change the culture of college drinking in order to make colleges safer and healthier environments."
The study used data collected from 119 schools that participated in three Harvard School of Health College Alcohol Surveys from 1997 to 2001.
Nearly 24,000 women were surveyed. The report found that one in 20 women reported being raped and nearly three-quarters of them were intoxicated during the rape.
Binge drinking is arguably the most important health issue among college students and is associated with several behavioral and health problems for both the binge drinker and those
"Binge drinking isn't a harmless rite of passage but a risk factor in violence against women."
George W. Dowdall
Professor of sociology
at Saint Joseph's University
around them, said Henry Wech sler.
Wechsler is a co-author of the study and director of College Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Wechsler said that about 44 percent of college students in this study could be classified as binge drinkers.
Researchers for the college alcohol survey defined binge drinking as the consumption of five or more drinks in a row at least once in the past two weeks for men and four or more drinks in a row for women.
The researchers then used the percentage of binge drinkers at a school to determine its heavy episodic drinking rate.
A school's episodic drinking rate can be placed into one of three categories: high-heavy episodic, medium-heavy episodic and low-heavy episodic.
A high-heavy episodic school has 50 percent binge drinkers. The medium-heavy category has 36 to 50 percent and the low-heavy category has zero to 35 percent binge drinkers. Students who are binge drinkers are 7.8 times more likely to experience rape than non-binge drinkers.
The biggest risk factor for a potential victim of rape while intoxicated is their school's heavy episodic drinking level, according to the report.
The researchers said colleges should tackle both the drinking and rape problem.
"This study points to an urgent need for more alcohol prevention programs on campuses, along with sexual assault education," said Mary Koss, a co-author of the study and professor of public health at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Kathy Rose-Mockry is aware of this problem at the University of Kansas. As director of the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, she administers the Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Program, which offers victims a place to turn to for advice from a trained staff and is helping increase awareness and decrease these sexual assaults, Rose-Mockry said.
Rose-Mocky said the program helps between 30 to 40 victims a year but she thought the number
Women who use illicit drugs are 3.2 times more likely to be raped.
RISK OF RAPE
Underage binge drinkers are 1.3 times more likely to be raped.
- Women residing in a sorority are 2 times more likely to be raped.
Heavy binge drinkers in high school are 2.5 times more likely to be raped in college.
Source: Correlation of rape while intoxicated in a national survey of college women by Harvard School of Public Health
The center offers workshops to the campus community every semester and is available by request to living groups and student organizations.
was inaccurate because not every victim is able to speak out about the incident.
The workshops cover a range of topics including sexual aggression, dating attitudes and expectations, sexual consent and personal safety.
Edited by Robert Perkins
Rare foods accompany dining hall selections
By Azita lafresni
atafreshi@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Azita Tafreshi
Zanzibar pilau, fried plantain chips and frogmore stew are just three of the 15 traditional African dishes students will be able to sample tonight during their routine visit to Mrs. E's.
In honor of Black History Month, the staff at Mrs. E's is offering a culinary tour of African cuisine and an explanation of how it has influenced food around the world from 4 to 7 tonight, said David Weakley, senior production supervisor for Mrs. E's.
The event is intended to provide students with an educational look at how indigenous African food has evolved into mainstream American culture, Weakley said.
Weakley said each of the items on the menu was chosen because of their ease of preparation and because all of the ingredients could be found in a typical grocery store.
"We wanted to really look at the cultural aspect of food, where it came from in Africa and its contributions to other areas of the world," Weakley said.
Recipes and a brief history of each dish will be available for students with the intention that they would taste the food and then try cooking it at home.
"We want to show how easily
MENU SELECTIONS
Peanut Soup
Mixed Greens with Sudan Dressing
Chicken Piri-Piri Sandwhich
Baked Yams
something that's of a unique name and a different preparation can fit into an everyday menu," said Jim Schilling, senior service supervisor for Mrs. E's.
The dining center staff collaborated with the Office of Multicultural Affairs in their research and planning of the meal to ensure its authenticity, said Sheryl Kidwell, dining services manager.
Tony Daniels, associate director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said people often would rather not participate in events like this because they were afraid to make a politically incorrect mistake.
"If we all don't do a better job of communicating that message to the rest of the campus, then people will continue to think that these celebrations are just for the African-American population," Daniels said.
Edited by Meghan Brune
The University of Kansas Department of Theatre and Film and The University Theatre present The KU Theatre for
The KU Theatre Young People in
Really Rosie
Book and lyrics by Maurice Johnson
Music by Carole King
STUDENT SENATE
Artelo
Directed by Joanne Klein
Musical Direction by Michael D. Johnson
Choreography by Leslie Bennett
Scenic & Lighting Design by Mark Reaney
Costume Design by Anna Wiescock
1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004
2:30 p.m. • Sunday, Feb. 22, 2004
Crafton-Preyer Theatre
General admission tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3982; Lied Center, 864-ARTS; SUA Office, 864-7469; and on-line at kutheatre.com; public $10.00, all students $5.00, KU faculty and staff $8.00, senior citizens $9.00, both VISA and Mastercard are accepted for phone and on-line orders. The University Theatre is partially funded by the KU Student Senate Activity Fee. This program is presented in part by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
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