Some freshmen are spending more time playing drinking games, shooting beer pong and taking shots than hitting the books.Nearly 50 percent of freshmen who drink alcohol said they spend more time drinking each week than studying, according to a survey which takes information from online alcohol education courses. The survey drew information from 30,000 students on 76 different campuses.Freshmen who said they had at least one drink in the past 14 days said they spent about 10.2 hours a week drinking and only 8.4 hours a week studying, according to the National Survey of Student Engagement.All first-semester freshmen at the University are required to visit MyStudentBody.com, an online alcohol education program that promotes healthy behavior and responsible decision making. Tyler Daniel, international political science freshman, said he learned a lot about drinking and alcohol from the program, but he still drinks multiple times a week.”If I have a test, I only drink one night a week,” he said.Daniel said it took him three to four hours to complete the online program.”This primary prevention program provides freshmen with information about alcohol and the dangers associated with high-risk drinking to encourage them to make responsible health decisions,” said Julie Hupperich, Student Health Center associate director. “It’s an important risk management strategy for the University.”The program costs $9,000 annually and is funded by the Student Health Center administration.”The information is provided at a critical time during their first semester,” Hupperich said. “Many students come to campus with established drinking habits, and many alcohol violations occur during the first semester.” But nearly 19 percent of freshmen who completed the program last fall said the program wouldn’t make them pay more attention to their drinking habits, according to the University’s MyStudentBody fall 2008 summary report.The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Academic Services and the Health Center implemented the program in 2004.The Health Center also recently purchased access to the drug, tobacco and stress online programs with the assistance of grant money. Beginning next fall, students will have access to the entire health suite, including the nutrition and safe sex programs.”Our hope is that students visit the site to complete the mandated alcohol education but return to the site on a regular basis to obtain credible health information,” Hupperich said.—-Contact Leslie Presnall at [email protected]