Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 12/11/07 Section: News

Michael Calabrese contributed to this story.

On the question of drug and alcohol use at Loyola College, Cynthia Parcover seeks out the answers in the classrooms. Parcover conducts the Loyola College Student Lifestyle Survey (LCSLS), one tool in the college's campaign to assess campus norms on subjects ranging from prayer and service, to alcohol and drug use. As the Assistant Director for Alcohol and Drug Education and Support Services (ADESS), she is on the forefront of the effort to study student perceptions, compared with what officials in the administration call campus realities. Other surveys the College refers to are the New Student Survey (NSS) and Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (CORE).

"Whenever we ask alcohol and drug questions we ask, 'What do you do?' and 'What do you think the typical student does?'" Parcover said. "We do this not only because it is human nature, but it is also a national trend for students to over-perceive negative behaviors and under-perceive positive behaviors."

According to the LCSLS survey, Loyola students' perception of drug use, including use of cocaine, is consistently higher than the number of students who acknowledge using. Specifically, the 2006 LCSLS showed 82 students out of 1,005 surveyed admitted using cocaine as frequently as only a few times per year, up to three or more times a week. On the other hand, student perception of cocaine use was much higher, with 540 saying the typical student used cocaine a few times a year or more.

Overall, the surveys show that the majority of Loyola students lead healthy life styles.

"We have the social norms campaign to get students to realize the accurate data," said Susan Donovan, vice president for Student Development. "Sometimes the only way to convince students is to give them the statistics."

However, the LCSLS confirms that a population of Loyola students are using cocaine, an addictive and dangerous narcotic. Compared with other drugs like alcohol and marijuana, the number of cocaine users is less. And while marijuana and alcohol are in no way benign drugs, the consequences of cocaine use are severe.

"It's very hard to use cocaine recreationally without psychological or mental effects," said Jan Williams, the director of ADESS and a licensed outpatient counselor. "Even one use of cocaine can be dangerous."

Williams referenced the particularly tragic example of Len Bias, a University of Maryland graduate and basketball prodigy, who died from a cocaine overdose in 1986, less than 48 hours after he had been drafted by the Boston Celtics. According to a Time magazine article published in 2001, Bias's autopsy revealed that his mucus membranes were clear, indicating to doctors that he might have been a first time user.

Despite the dangers, student users still take cocaine recreationally. A Loyola senior, who asked to remain anonymous, said that she and her friends use before going out.

"It keeps you up and you are more outgoing and friendly. You just want to party more," she said. "It's a dangerous drug. I definitely realize that. My sister's old roommate had a problem, and they had an intervention and sent her to rehab. That's the closest I have been around that."

Though she lives off campus now, she said she was introduced to cocaine when she lived on campus in her sophomore year. Since then, she and her friends have typically used cocaine in conjunction with alcohol when they are out at bars -- they rarely use when sober.

"It is addicting, and once people have it they want to get more of it," she said.

Cocaine's addictive quality is one effect that makes the drug so dangerous. The drug's short-term effects make it a popular party drug, and they include increased blood pressure, constricted blood vessels, mental alertness, and increased energy. These short-term effects are what users often become addicted to, at first, after which such use can easily evolve into dependency.

Another Loyola senior is well aware of these risks. The student, who also requested to remain anonymous, said she stopped using cocaine after seeing its long-term physical, mental, and social effects firsthand before she arrived at Loyola.

"Every substance that you put into your body is going to have a consequence," she said. "It takes you on a downward spiral."

Having dealt with the detrimental effects of cocaine as a user, she was also involved relationship with a dealer who dealt other drugs including cocaine. She explains that her boyfriend became dependent upon cocaine, which eventually led to his arrest and treatment for drug addiction at a rehab center.

"There are a lot of long-term side effects, and I realized I was hurting myself by doing it," she said. "Watching someone that you love and care about get arrested, and then get treatment for it helps you put it into perspective."

Some of the long-term effects of cocaine use include heart disease, heart attacks, respiratory failure, stroke and other serious medical problems.

"Cocaine weakens the blood vessels," explained Jan Williams.

If a student is caught with illegal drugs, he or she is typically put through the College's judicial process. According to Susan Donovan, first time offenders are required to take random drug tests, and depending on the severity of their offense, they may be suspended.

"Certainly we take any drug use seriously. But, if there is any suspicion that a student is dealing or distributing, they would be expelled permanently. And we've had some of those" said Donovan.

While much of the College's dealings with drug and alcohol take place through the judicial process, there is also a support infrastructure available to those who wish to receive help.

"We have a short-term model for students who want to get counseling," said Jason Parcover, Associate Director for Research, Technology and Outreach in the Counseling Center. "After that we help them with outside services, and keep in touch to make sure they are doing okay."

Services include one-on-one and group counseling and a state-certified Out-Patient Treatment program run through ADESS.

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For more information on the services ADESS provides log onto http://www.loyola.edu/campuslife/healthservices/adess/index.html

If you would like to set up an appointment with a counselor in the Counseling Center, call (410) 617-5109.

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