By Kristen Lunde
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 1:02 a.m.

Although it is common knowledge many University of Wisconsin students spend their weekends drinking booze, the second annual Alcohol and Our Learning Environment symposium Tuesday sought to evaluate the connections between students’ social lives and their academics at UW.

“The goal is to use expertise to build bridges between the social and academic aspects of students’ lives,” said Susan Pastor, community health specialist for University Health Services.

Prompted by the increasing number of students sent to detox, the increasingly high blood alcohol content of students who come in contact with police and general concern about the volume of drinking on campus, the symposium brought together people and ideas from across UW to synthesize and think more critically about alcohol use.

“We’re hoping to look at new ways to think about the role that alcohol plays in everyone’s lives and make the case that thinking about it from an academic perspective can be a better way to address the problem,” UHS Executive Director Sarah Van Orman said.

The symposium, sponsored by UHS, the Offices of the Dean of Students and the campus Alcohol Task Force, combined presentations from a variety of individuals from Madison. Shelly Dutch, director of local clinic Connections Counseling, said peer influence is the most powerful way to motivate college-aged students.

The event allowed a wide range of issues to be covered, highlighting the multifaceted impact of alcohol on campus and offering new perspectives to faculty and students.

“We know that alcohol impacts students’ lives in many different ways and that traditional programs are not very effective in addressing the problem,” Van Orman said.

One aspect UHS hopes to include in the symposium in the future is the work being done by students concerning alcohol abuse.

“The symposium did not address the large amount of student-led initiatives,” Pastor said. “With more effort, we could highlight the work being done by students.”

One such initiative is WisChoices, an organization funded by an NCAA grant focusing on student-to-student alcohol education.

Initiated in 2004, the College Connections clinic, a division of Connections Counseling, provides students age 18 to 24 an environment for addiction recovery and support. Although it provides counseling services, College Connections also provides an alternative for students who are seeking a sober environment.

“In addition to reaching out to those who are struggling, we are also about communication and connections,” Dutch said. “We put sober options out there as a way to experience college life without partying.”

The third annual Alcohol and Our Learning Environment symposium is already in the works. Set to take place Oct. 21, 2010, it will focus on intersections with campus climate and diversity issues.

“Alcohol is a continually relevant topic and one that really impacts students,” Van Orman said. “No matter how much a student chooses to drink, alcohol impacts their experience on campus.”