ORONO – Almost half of all college students in Maine ages 18-29 have engaged in binge drinking, according to the results of a first-ever statewide survey provided Friday by the Office of Substance Abuse.

Compiled over the last four years and gleaned from a phone survey conducted by the state Bureau of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the research also shows that students are almost twice as likely to report binge drinking as their peers who are employed. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.

“The data’s no surprise. Everyone knows there’s a problem. That’s why we’re here,” said Rebecca Matusovich, prevention specialist with the Office of Substance Abuse, who was helping to conduct a meeting on Friday of more than a dozen of the state’s colleges and universities at the University of Maine to determine ways to curb high-risk drinking by students.

Called the Higher Education Alcohol Prevention Partnership, the fledgling group was meeting for only the second time but already had come up with concrete steps to reduce alcohol abuse: limiting alcohol availability, restricting marketing and promotion of alcohol, increasing enforcement of laws and policies, offering alcohol-free social and recreational options, and creating healthful environments.

Historically, colleges and universities have worked by themselves to reduce students’ high-risk drinking. But if the partnership has its way, there will be a systemic, statewide change in how the behavior is addressed at both the state and local level.

While campuses typically compile similar information about the alcohol consumption behaviors of students, the new survey provides the first statewide snapshot. The information could provide fresh impetus for the nascent higher education partnership.

The survey showed that 47 percent of students between the ages of 18 and 29 reported binge drinking, compared to 26 percent of people in the same age bracket who work full time.

It also revealed a considerable gender gap, with 64 percent of male students admitting to having participated in binge drinking, compared to 25 percent of female students. But females metabolize alcohol differently than males, so even though they may drink less, their behavior still could be high risk, Matusovich said.

She emphasized that although the survey data is troubling, it also shows that not all students are involved in high-risk drinking. “People’s perceptions tend to be that everyone’s doing it,” she said.

Colleges and universities in Maine have been working to reduce high-risk drinking for several years, Office of Substance Abuse Director Kimberly Johnson pointed out during a telephone interview Friday afternoon. “They really are taking this seriously and this is new data that will encourage them in their current efforts,” she said.

Some of the next steps members of the partnership plan to work on include creating a campaign to correct students’ perception that the entire campus is participating in high-risk drinking. Surveys show that young people believe that two to three times as many students are binge drinking as are actually reported, said Rebecca Ireland, coordinator of the higher education partnership.

Members also said they want to involve parents more by providing information about a college or university’s notification policy.

Rules vary widely among institutions. At the University of Maine, for example, parents are contacted after a student is involved in two minor violations or one major violation, said Lauri Sidelko, director of Substance Abuse Services at the Orono campus. A minor infraction could be disobeying the underage drinking law in a residence hall, while a major infraction could involve damaging property or being in a car accident while under the influence, she said.

But the University of Southern Maine has no mechanism for notifying parents. “It’s at the discretion of university officials and it’s not common practice,” said Paul Dexter, assistant dean of student life.

Plans hatched at Friday’s meeting include researching whether laws already exist to restrict bars offering “specials” on drinks. According to anecdotal evidence, more bars are offering cheap drinks, members said. They wondered whether existing laws just weren’t being enforced.

People are also reporting that more bars seem to be admitting underage students, possibly because of the elimination of the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement, according to members.

It’s not only the imbibing students themselves who are affected, Matusovich noted. National surveys show that three out of four college students report that their sleep or studying has been interrupted and that they have been harassed or sexually assaulted or had property damaged because of excessive drinking by their classmates.

Higher education officials should be aware that excessive alcohol consumption and its related effects could affect attrition, said Ireland. Some national data indicates that alcohol plays a role in a high percentage of academic underachievement, which leads to dropping out.

While students are immersed in financial aid information, little is done to provide them with facts about the prevalence of high risk drinking – something else partnership members hope to change.

Although a student may have experimented with alcohol before college, campus life involves more personal freedom, less structure and more exposure to drinking, they pointed out.

For more information contact Matusovich, 287-6415 or Rebecca.Matusovich@maine.gov