The Towerlight, February 14, 2011

EXPLORING CFA SCULPTURES PAGE 15 Towson’s campus and community news source Online daily atthetOwerlight.com Monday, 2-14-11 Drinking Culture: TU looks for answers Over-intoxication raises questions, concerns DANIEL GROSS Editor-in-Chief LAUREN SLAVIN Senior Editor University officials are trying to put a finger on the drinking culture on Towson’s campus. The administration is attempting to start a dialogue with students during four open forums scheduled in response to an abnormally high number of cases of students transported to local hospitals for alcohol intoxication. At least eight transports happened in the first week of the spring semester. Donna Cox, a professor in the department of health science and the director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Center, said the reason for the number of intoxicated students in need of hospital attention in one week is thus far unexplained. "The question is why are the first couple of weeks of this semester so critical compared to other spring semester or fall semester openings," Cox said. "We honestly don’t know. There’s a lot of things we can assume about why this is happening with students. " Sophomore psychology and criminal justice major Lauren Glodny has lived in Tower В the past two years and said she doesn't remember a previ¬ ous time this many residents were sent to the hospital. While the idea of students over-indulging before the semester gets in full swing seems like a plausible explanation for the transports, Glodny said there’s really nothing the university can do to stop students from drinking. "It’s part of the college experience," she said. "People need to learn to control themselves, and if someone needs to get sent to the hospital, hope¬ fully they’ll learn. [Some] people need a different eye-opening event to hap¬ pen to them, which is bad, but that has to be done in regard to anything, not just drinking." Based on police reports, the on-campus alcohol transports have been reported from Millennium Hall, Harriet Tubman House, Newell Hall, as well as multiple transports from both the Glen Complex and Residence Tower. However, vice president for student affairs Deb Moriarty said that drink¬ ing within residence halls is not the issue. "Students are going out to off-campus parties or establishments," she said. Bars that offer drink specials and 18-plus nights are of particular interest to the university. Moriarty said she believes Favorites Pub in Baltimore has a reputation for allowing underage students to drink at its 18-plus night, “Funday Monday.” Since the start of Funday Monday about a year ago, Favorites Pub has been a hotspot for Towson University students. “I understand that they’re not as strict with IDs,” she said. Towson University Police Department deputy chief Joe Herring said that a majority of the alcohol transports on campus have been from students who were at Favorites earlier in the night before returning to campus and being sent to the hospital. Moriarty said the administration will be speaking to target areas, such as Favorites, that they believe contribute to the rise in underage drinking and drinking on weeknights. Glodny has attended Funday Monday in the past and doesn’t see the event as a University issue, despite concerns raised by the university in regard to Favorites. See DRINK, page 8 Casey Prather/ The Towerlight B’more No. 4 job market JORDAN RUSSELL News Editor Baltimore is often recognized as a leader among U.S. cities in negative aspects: homicides, homelessness and epidemic levels of HIV/ AIDS to name a few. But there’s one case where Baltimore stands out more than almost any city in a positive way. According to the job search engine Juju.com, Baltimore is ranked the fourth best in the U.S. for job seekers. Lorie Logan-Bennett, director of Towson University’s Career Center, said Baltimore’s location is a large contributing factor to its ranking. ”1 do certainly think that our geographic location is a big help See В MORE, page 9 WE DELIVER! order online www.jerrysusa.com 410-321-7827 or call Monday Night Special one large $C99 pizza Jr::; After 3pm Not valid for delivery Valid only at Jeriy's of Towson. Not valid with other discounts, promotions, coupons or prepaid credit card orders. Limited Time Only. regular $ cheesesteak + reg. fries ♦ reg. drink Valid only at Jeriy's of Towson. Not valid with other discounts, promotions, coupons or prepaid credit card orders. Limited Time Only.