The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh leads the list of U.S. colleges with most alcohol and drug arrests, according to a survey led by Jon Millard of rehabs.com.
The list is based on information provided by the Office of Post-Secondary Education 2011 database. Through the survey, Millard sought to bring colleges with severe drug and alcohol-related problems out to the public.
The Oshkosh officials and campus community have condemned the report and are disputing the results of the survey that claims UW-Oshkosh is the worst in terms of alcohol and drug arrests.
Petra Roter, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, said that alcohol consumption has not really increased on campus and majority of the arrests made are actually "citations or referrals for diversion programs. We may have had a significant number of referrals, but that's just our way of addressing potential alcohol or some sort of substance use or abuse," Fox 11 reports.
Roter said that drug and alcohol abuses are taken very seriously on campus. In recent years, university officials have expanded the Community Safety Officer (CSO) program, Community Advisors (CAs) at residence hall security stations, alcohol and drug education, and other counseling and enforcement programs.
"We on this campus have really looked at developing a culture that emphasizes accountability, responsibility and education ....misuse and abuse of alcohol impacts not only the individual and their success but also the community itself," Roter said, the campus student newspaper reports.
To discourage drinking on campus, Joe Sobralski, and his friends created an off-campus organization called 'Party.0' that holds alcohol free parties for students as an alternative way to have fun.
"It's grown with tremendous support and a lot of the (fraternities and sororities) have supported it so that is exciting and I think more people need to realize that there are other ways to party without drinking," said Sobralski.
Miller said that all U.S. college campuses report drug and alcohol issues. High arrest rates on campus do not truly reflect drug abuse on campus. It could mean that the campus police has been extremely efficient and keeps an eye on every small incident on campus.
"This analysis was strictly an unbiased look at what the hard figures suggest about per capita crime rates," Millard said. "... We see the study as a jumping off point for more discussion and debate-an extra resource that can be marshaled by colleges in the fight against systemic drug crime on campus grounds," the Online racket reports.
Top 10 American Colleges with Most Alcohol and Drug Arrests per 1,000 students
1. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh - 22.41
2. University of Wisconsin-Stout - 20.83
3. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse - 20.06
4. West Chester University - 17.52
5. University of Colorado-Boulder - 15.86
6. Western Illinois University - 15.17
7. University of Minnesota-Duluth - 14.13
8. University of New Hampshire - 12.41
9. University of Louisiana at Monroe - 12.33
10. Florida State University - 11.91
