UD class explores research on
binge drinking

A free public series of 13 lectures focusing on "Research on Alcohol" is being held on Tuesdays, from 12:30- 1:45 p.m., in the Kirkwood Room of the Perkins Student Center. on Tuesdays. A discussion session follows each talk.

Roberta Murphy, project manager for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-sponsored initiative to curb binge drinking at UD, said the discussions include issues surrounding the abuse of alcohol, such as race and gender, as well as different forms of treatment and the effect of the media.

Topics already covered have included "Drinking on Campus: The Harvard School of Public Health Study" with George Dowdall, professor of sociology at St. Joseph's University; "From Vice to Disease: the Early History of Treatment for Alcoholism in America" with Sarah Tracy, research associate with the Center for Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University; "Women and Alcohol" with Cynthia Robbins, sociology; "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome" with Elizabeth Armstrong, University of Pennsylvania; "Ethnicity, Alcohol and Fatalities Among Drivers in New Mexico," Robert Peralta, Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies.

Upcoming talks include:

• "Alcohol, Homelessness and the Loss of SSI Benefits," James Baumohl, Bryn Mawr College, Nov. 4;

• "Sociodemographic Patterns and Treatment Effectiveness," Mandel Much, sociologist and director of the Aquila Center, Nov. 11;

• "Alcohol and Its Connection to Street Drug Use in America and Other Countries," Mario Pazzaglini, youth counselor, Nov. 18;

• "The Impact of Alcoholism on Families," Jonathan Lewis, Center for Counseling and Student Development, Nov. 25; and

• "Is Alcohol a Disease?," Robbins, Dec. 2.

-Barbara Garrison