Despite all the alcohol- and drug-related policies and educational programs Minnesota colleges and universities put in place, they can never ensure that one of their students won't end up like Jenna Foellmi or Amanda Jax.
Foellmi, a Winona State University sophomore, and Jax, a former Minnesota State University pre-nursing student, died in 2007 from alcohol poisoning.
Any young person's death tends to stun, and yet the death of such great energy and potential found in Foellmi, for example, is even harder to bear, said Connie Gores, Winona State's vice president of student life and development.
Foellmi, 20, of Brownsville, was majoring in biochemistry and cell molecular biology. She was found dead Dec. 14 in her off-campus apartment after a night of heavy drinking with friends.
"Tragic," Gores said. "And Jenna was in the prime of her life. Bright, capable, eager. What a strong student. I mean, I get goose bumps. It's just so sad to lose anybody at that age and especially one with such a promising future."
Because of Foellmi and other students who could become the victims of such tragedy, Gores takes her job very seriously. Among other responsibilities, she is in charge of programs at Winona State that educate students about the effects of alcohol and drugs. She said Winona State, which prohibits alcohol on campus, has a history of taking a proactive approach to the issue.
"It's interesting because one of the things we're trying to do is have a balance between privacy and safety. It's a balance between helping these students develop independence but also providing support. They are young adults, and it's important that they learn how to make good choices," she said.
Education on alcohol and drugs begins for Winona State freshmen the summer before their first semester. During registration time in June, the college offers sessions on what it means to be a college student and how to make healthy choices.
"Then, during orientation week in the fall, there are programs on alcohol policies and, again, making good choices," Gores said.
Also, most freshmen take a semester-long course called Introduction to Higher Education, which includes information about drugs and alcohol.
Beginning next summer, Winona State will add an online session for freshmen to view even before they visit the campus. It will include a self-assessment of alcohol and drug use and suggestions for changing negative behaviors.
But does such education do any good?
Drinking is "just part of the college experience," said Winona State University sophomore Luke Miller.
Miller, 20, of Coon Rapids, Minn., isn't old enough to go to the bars, so instead he congregates with his friends at house parties. If he's at a party, Luke said, he'll cut himself off after seven or eight beers.
Gores said she hopes drug and alcohol education influences freshmen, many of whom come to campus with "pretty well-established patterns."
"Alcohol is the drug that is most preferred and most abused by teenagers in Minnesota," she said, referring to information released in the 2007 Minnesota Student Survey. The Minnesota Department of Education released the survey in December. About 142,000 high school students participated.
"Among high school seniors, 78 percent use alcohol, and two in five are binge drinkers," Gores said.
Winona State University senior Jacki Hight, 23, feels that binge drinking is definitely a problem for some people on campus.
"I've seen some people get so drunk that they fall as they pass out," Hight said.
There's been a few times when she's wondered if her own friends would make it through the night after a night of heavy drinking, she said.
Hight thinks the novelty of being on their own and away from their parents leads some students to have a little too much fun.
"Believe me, its much more fun to just have three drinks rather than 10 to 15," Hight said. "You actually remember the night before, and you don't feel as gross the next morning."
Researchers generally define binge drinking as the consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting. However, Gary Schindler, dean of student affairs for Riverland Community College in Austin and Albert Lea, said he prefers to use the term "risky drinking."
"I think that's a term that's more accurate ... because that's really what it is," Schindler said. "Binge drinking is defined as four to five drinks at one setting. Well, if that one setting is happening from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m., for the average individual, their body may be processing that alcohol and they maybe would not be intoxicated. We're concerned about risky drinking, which would be large volumes of alcohol in a shorter period of time. That's where I think these deaths are coming from."
In response to the recent alcohol-related deaths of students, Riverland has revamped some of its conduct policies regarding alcohol and drug abuse. The policies are now clearer, have stricter sanctions and include educational and community service components, Schindler said.
Riverland primarily is a commuter college, though it does have housing for 84 students in Austin, and that's where the college does see occasional violations to its alcohol, tobacco and drug policies, Schindler said.
"It's a three strikes and you're out policy," he said. "And that could lead to evictions. We do not have a lot of evictions, so we're hoping that that is working."
Rochester Community and Technical College has no student housing so it doesn't deal directly with incidents of student alcohol and drug abuse, RCTC President Donald Supalla said. However, like Riverland, RCTC provides a number of educational postings and brochures for students on alcohol, tobacco and drug use.
"And I think in the past we've done some forums and brown bag seminars. We've brought the smashed motor cars out here from the highway patrol around commencement time. There are a number of different things we do to try to impress upon the students how important this really is," Supalla said.
Saint Mary's University, a four-year residential university in Winona, is a "wet campus," meaning drinking alcohol is allowed on campus for students who are at least 21. Of the approximately 1,350 undergraduate students at Saint Mary's, about 1,100 live on campus. Alcohol is prohibited in residential halls for under-age students.
The university intervenes in cases of under-age drinking, said Michael O'Friel, Saint Mary's coordinator of alcohol and drug education.
"Our big focus is on education, recognizing that a person of this age is going through a lot of change in their life, and we're trying to help them understand the choices they're facing, the consequences and risks involved," O'Friel said.
Saint Mary's also requires students who commit violations to do community service, such as cleaning or picking up trash on campus.
Still, binge drinking continues on college campuses.
Cory Campbell, 20, of Pepin, Wis., said binge drinking is prevalent at Winona State, but he's visited other colleges and has seen similar drinking behavior.
"It doesn't matter what college you go to, there's always that one person who's going to get out of control," Campbell said. "People should just know when to stop."
Staff writer Laura Gossman contributed to this report.
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