By Ashley Bergner, senior

For Tally Stroud, drinking and wild parties were just a normal part of the college experience. What she didn’t realize is that later her alcohol abuse would almost destroy her life.

Although Stroud started drinking at the age of 13 and drank throughout high school, her life went into a downward spiral when she started college.

“I really gave into the culture of partying,” she said.

Her alcoholism damaged her relationships and negatively affected her emotional, physical and spiritual health. It also caused her to make decisions she wouldn’t have made while sober.

Stroud finally reached a place where she realized that something needed to change. “I had to face the fact that alcohol was controlling me,” she said.

Stroud, now a recovered alcoholic, recently shared her testimony at the Friends University event “Alcohol Jeopardy.” As a speaker, she tries to raise awareness about alcohol abuse so that others don’t make the same mistakes she did. She urges students to be aware of the consequences of alcohol abuse and substance abuse in general, and how it can affect their future.

Substance abuse at Friends

In the past 12 months, Friends has had 12 documented cases of substance abuse leading to disciplinary action by the school, said Brian Bollinger, director of Community and Residential Development.

Alcohol is, unsurprisingly, the most abused substance on campus, said Carole Obermeyer, vice president of Student Affairs. Though there aren’t as many cases, the school has had problems with students using marijuana and other illegal drugs. Prescription drug abuse can be a problem as well.

Because some abusers are so good at hiding their addictions, it can be difficult to estimate how many substance abusers are on campus. However, to Obermeyer, the number doesn’t matter.

“If there’s one, it’s an issue,” she said. “Any substance abuse is going to make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a student to be successful academically, socially and spiritually.”

Obermeyer provided some other insights into substance abuse on campus. The amount of substance abuse tends to vary by academic year, with first-year college students typically becoming the most frequent abusers. First-year students are in a transition period, trying to figure out who they are and exploring their newfound sense of independence. Sometimes this process includes abusing alcohol and drugs.

The good news is that substance abuse decreases as students progress through their academic career.

When junior Paul Teran worked as a resident assistant in Green Residence Hall last year, he said there were several issues with alcohol.

Although the majority of students were not abusers, “there were some residents who would try to get away with it more than one time,” he said.

Often, a student would get in trouble for a noise violation during a party, and then Residence Life would find out that alcohol was involved.

Teran agrees with Obermeyer that freshmen are more likely to abuse alcohol, at least on campus.

“It seems like upperclassmen, if they’re doing that, they take it off campus,” he said.

Still, Teran believes that Friends is not as bad as other schools in terms of substance abuse.

“I think that it’s better,” he said. “Friends is a lot more in control.”

Campus policy on substance abuse

According to campus policy, students are not allowed to have any alcohol or drugs on campus. The school does not police students who drink alcohol off campus and then return to campus, but if students draw attention to themselves by being drunk – such as exhibiting loud, disrespectful or abusive behavior – the school will intercede.

The school does not have a set disciplinary procedure for students who violate the substance abuse policy. Obermeyer said the staff looks at each situation individually and talks to the student who committed the violation. A student who is honest about going through a stressful time and a student who is acting disrespectfully and lying about his or her substance abuse will be dealt with differently.

Facing the facts

Although most are aware of the consequences of illegal drug abuse, alcohol abuse is sometimes whitewashed. Yet alcohol can have devastating consequences for students, particularly because they are sometimes led to believe no dangers are associated with irresponsible drinking.

“It’s very acceptable; there’s no consequences that come with that,” Tally Stroud said. “Unfortunately, that’s lie. There’s always a great risk.”

Drinking can lead to alcoholism, which can affect a student’s grades and relationships. It can disrupt a roommate’s ability to study and have a social life; a student may be afraid to invite company over for fear of what a “drunk” roommate might do.

Drinking lessens inhibitions, putting students more at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies. Alcoholism can even lead to drunken driving. According to the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office, you can be fined up to $2,500 after being convicted of a DUI and could spend up to six months in jail. The worst consequence could be a DUI that leads to your death or the death of another driver.

What you can do

If you know someone who is dealing with substance abuse, your No. 1 priority should be to get support, Obermeyer said. You should seek out someone on campus you feel comfortable talking to – whether it’s a resident manager, the school’s counselor or a professor. You can also find brochures about dealing with substance abuse outside campus nurse Sue Lucas’ office in Casado Campus Center.

Ultimately, you should confront your friend about his or her substance abuse.

Although sometimes family and friends are tempted to cover up a person’s substance abuse, this will not help the person, and it only enables his or her addiction, Obermeyer said.

If you are involved with substance abuse, you should talk to a trusted staff member or friend and seek professional help, Obermeyer said. The school offers free, confidential counseling. Andrea Taylor, director of counseling, and Sue Lucas both have offices in the lower level of Casado and are more than happy to talk with students about struggles they may be going through. Students seeking spiritual support are welcome to visit the Campus Ministries office on the second floor of the Davis Administration Building.

Making a choice

The decisions that students make now regarding substance abuse can affect them for the rest of their lives.

“We can all make choices – good or bad – but we don’t always get to choose our consequences,” Lucas said.

Stroud agrees. “I’m still reaping the consequences of the choices I made in college,” she said. “I ended up becoming the worst me that I could possibly be.”

She urges students to seek help if they are struggling with an addiction before it is too late.

“Have enough courage just to make a phone call,” she said. “Get support. Do it for your future.”