European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Linda and Larry Wooten of Orange Park fla., lost their son to Binge drinking. The tragedy of Binge drinking not by William Celis Iii the new York times drinking among College students has declined Over the past decade studies show As society has grown less tolerant of alcohol. But that decline masks a trend that is proving both stubborn and lethal the persistence of abusive or Quot Binge 1 drinking Quot More students Are drinking abusively Quot said Thomas g. Goodale vice president for student a flairs at Virginia polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg a. Quot i be never seen it like in be seen it in the last 10 years with the last five years worse than the first five.1 although the number of College students who said they drank declined to 80 percent this year from 89 percent in 1981, according to a Survey by the University of Florida another Survey for the Federal government by the University of Michigan suggests that abusive drinking among College students has held steady. The Sun by also found that such abusive drinking has declined among 19 to 22-year-Olds who Are not in College. At Virginia tech and Boston College from Rutgers to Stanford administrators Are grappling with the problem. And at some campuses there has clearly been an increase in abusive drinking which is defined by the National Institute of drug abuse and other specialists As consuming five or More drinks at one sitting. At Oklahoma state University in Stillwater the student health Center treats an average of 10 cases of severe alcohol poisoning a semester up from six a decade ago at Gritman medical Center in Moscow Idaho which serves the University of Idaho minor to severe cases of alcohol poisoning among students have risen to an average of eight a week double the number a decade ago. Generations of College students have drunk to excess reveling in their newfound Freedom from parental reins. But College Deans alcohol rehabilitation specialists and students themselves say Many of the factors that Lead to abusive drinking have intensified in recent years Quot the 21 drinking age Law is the most unenforced Law in the country Quot said Arthur Sandeen vice president of student affairs at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Quot frankly it s a  students themselves suggest that attempts to curtail alcohol consumption Are futile because they will find ways to bypass rules and Laws. Quot if they make the rules harder then kids will try harder to break them Quot said Lara Deming a 19-year-old Virginia tech Sophomore who added that despite her age she could find alcohol whenever she wanted it. Quot i Don t think they can do anything to keep kids from drinking Quot students and administrators also say today s students Are under More peer and academic pressure than in the past. Quot they have a lot More to Deal with than i did Quot said Candyce Reynolds a 34-year-old Counselor at Portland state University in Oregon who attended College in the 1970s, Quot i think younger people Are disenfranchised. They face Many More difficulties including exposure to alcohol risky sexual behaviour and a staggering Economy Quot Isaac and Alease Parsons had warned their son Wayne a 19-year-old Sophomore at Virginia tech about the perils of alcohol. Wayne the youngest of three Brothers and two Sisters had even been lectured by an older brother. But when Wayne went to a party with about 30 other people at a Friend s apartment one night at the end of september he gulped a Large Quantity of Beer then in 15 minutes drank an oversized Tumbler of about 32 ounces of tequila friends told the police. About an hour later he collapsed. An emergency medical Crew was called but could not revive him. He died in the Hospital at 6 the next morning his distraught and unbelieving parents at his Side. The cause of death was alcohol poisoning. Quot i rubbed his hand and talked to him but i never could get a response Quot said his father Isaac Parsons his voice breaking. A to crying All the time. I can t get it off my  for All the couple knew their son had heeded their advice on drinking. Quot he was very Good about doing what he was told Quot said Parsons. Who added that once he even offered Wayne a drink which his son declined. Quot he never gave us a minute s trouble no Back talk. We had no indication that he  that is Why they Are still finding it so hard to come to terms with the death of their son a Sophomore electrical engineering major who was a Sohd b student with a Bright mind and a Knack the 21 drinking age Law is the most unenforced Law in the country. Frankly it s a Nightmare for computers. Quot Why would he do something like this Quot Parsons asked sobbing. Quot he had a Good ability and mind about things i was constantly telling him not to let outsiders influence him. Was he coaxed Quot the Parsons say they believe that other students at the party cajoled their son into the drinking that killed him because to have done it on his own would have been out of character. To support that they cited statements by students at the party to the Blacksburg police and University officials who investigated the incident that their son got the alcohol at the party. Quot to a certain degree i blame the other students Quot Parsons said. Quot they could have taken the alcohol away from  unlike the Parsons family Mike and Sandra Brodwater of Coeur d Alene Idaho knew their son Alan drank and sometimes drank excessively but they thought they had helped him get Over it. Alan Brodwater said was trying to improve his 3.0 Grade Point average to 3.4 or 3.5 and used alcohol to ease the stress. But after several conversations with his son about the dangers of drinking Brodwater said Quot i really Felt that the worst was Over. So when Alan the second of four boys and a Junior majoring in accounting at the University of Idaho died at 1 10 . On nov. 1, his parents were shocked. University officials said he died after a bout of drinking that began at his apartment and continued at a halloween party off Campus. Quot i Felt absolute disbelief Quot Brodwater said. Such deaths have led some grieving families like that of Larry k. Wooten a 21-year-old University of Florida Junior to mount campaigns against alcohol abuse. Wooten a history major with a 4.0 Grade average was watching a football game with friends at a bar in Gainesville when he and an old Friend challenged each other to see who could drink More. Quot it was something these boys always did a said Linda Wooten Larry s Mother. Quot they competed through baseball football grades girlfriends. Larry was going to beat Stevie s record. And he did drinking 23 shots of liquor one More drink than his Friend in an hour. The other student survived but when friends took Larry to his apartment late that night they noticed he had passed out and that his hands and feet were turning Blue. The friends called an ambulance but he died of asphyxiation on the Way to the Hospital. Their son s death prompted the Wooten to begin a drive to Force the Florida legislature to adopt tougher Laws on the liability of bars and restaurants that Seive liquor to people who Are drunk All states have some sort of Law that places some liability on bars and restaurants but the Laws vary in their seventy a i m going to do everything in my Power to get that Law passed so that the bars Are responsible Quot said the dead student s father Larry g. Wooten the Wooten Effort is pan of a scattershot approach undertaken in recent years by parents universities Fra terrines and students to try to Corral a problem that Gosca e of Virginia tech says Quot is the one problem  Haven t been Able to get their arms Arouna Page 14 b the stars and stripes tuesday March 17 1992 s ervice members pursue less lethal forms of abusive drinking by Chuck Roberts staff writer service members in Europe engage in Binge drinking too but military Counselor contend their behaviour in t As destructive As on College campuses. Quot Young men Are Young men Quot said cart Turner clinical director at the Community counselling Center in Giessen Germany. Their pattern of Binge drinking most often is a function of youth rot military status he noted. Turner said he frequently encounters Binge drinkers among his clientele although they Are relatively rare in the population As a whole. He and other social workers in Europe said they Haven t encountered the lethal forms of this Type of alcohol abuse that make headlines from College campuses. The Counselor said that service members typically exhibit the behaviour in the form of drinking games such As Quot quarters Quot Quot chug a lug Quot and the appropriately named Quot pain  in Europe no airmen died or alcohol poisoning in 1991, said it. Col. Rob Brady director of social actions for Safe. Usa eur spokesmen were unavailable for comment on the Issue except to say the command stopped keeping statistics on alcohol related deaths in the mid-1980s. At that time alcohol was the greatest Factor associated with the death of soldiers in Europe said Bill Swisher a spokesman for 7th medical come in Heidelberg Germany. Among those alcohol related deaths were soldiers killed driving while intoxicated or struck by trains while walking on Railroad tracks Swisher said. Overall drinking has declined on campuses in the United states but there is an increase in deaths from from alcohol poisoning after binding. The National Institute of drug abuse and other specialists define binding As consuming five or More drinks at one sitting. The army however defines Binge drinking As heavy drinking Over a period of one or More Days said Maxine Tucker an alcohol and drug abuse Counselor at the Community counselling Center in Friedberg Germany. Most of the serious drinking games in the military Are played by lower ranking service members who Are easily influenced by their associates officials said. Quot its a peer pressure thing Quot Brady said Quot its going to be your Young people just out of High school or tech  Tucker said heavy drinking during the weekend is common among Many soldiers who play Quot quarters Quot or the Quot pain  both Are sometimes used by soldiers in the Friedberg area to establish How much alcohol a new arrival can take Tucker said. Quarters is played by attempting to Bounce a Coin off the table and into a Glass of alcohol. If the person is successful he can select a participating player who must quickly drink the Glass of alcohol. The pain game is played by two people who place the burning end of a cigarette on the backs of each other s hands. While the cigarette Burns the skin a player drinks until he can t take the pain anymore. The Winner is the one who can drink the most before moving his hand away. Some soldiers have consumed 20 and More shots of boo a before quitting Tucker said. Soldiers who have a High tolerance for pain have come into i Ucker s office with deep bums on the Backol their hands she said. Tucker said she has heard that the game was introduced to the soldiers about a year ago by germans who moved from Eastern Berlin to Friedberg. Tucker said that she had about four soldiers referred to her office in january who had been playing the pain game. She also said Many soldiers limit their heavy drinking to weekends to avoid getting m trouble or becoming known in their unit As a Drinker the stars and stripes b Page 15