It's Thursday night and you're getting ready to go out. Maybe you're heading over to Timothy's Bar and Grill or maybe you're playing a drinking game. Either way, you're not studying for your chemistry test tomorrow.

Welcome to college?

A recent study done by NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and Outside The Classroom found that first-year college students who drink spend 10.2 hours drinking per week versus 8.4 hours of studying.

First-year students involved in the study came from a collection of 76 universities that are part of the AlcoholEdu program. Sound familiar? AlcoholEdu is the University of Dayton's required online program for incoming freshmen that questions knowledge about alcohol use and provides information regarding alcohol prevention and safety issues. "Parents are working hard to pay tuition bills," said Brandon Busteed, founder and chief executive officer of Outside The Classroom, in a recent NASPA press release. "Yet many of their children are out drinking instead of investing time in building their future. This is a threat to the core mission of higher education."

A 2008 UD alcohol survey found that 85 percent of students have chosen to be out drinking in the last month, according to Steve Mueller, executive director for the Counseling and Health Center. A 2007 national survey found that 63.7 percent of full-time college students ages 18 to 22 reported alcohol use in the past month.

Of the people on UD's campus who drink, the average number of drinks reported was 2.5 on Thursday, 5.5 on Friday, 5.5 on Saturday and .4 on Sunday. By the definition of binge drinking, which is classified when males consume five or more drinks in one sitting and females four or more drinks, the average UD student is a binge drinker on Friday and Saturday nights, consuming on average 5.5. drinks.

However, Mueller said to be aware of the rather large standard deviation. For example, drinks per night on a Friday may range from 2.5 to 8.5 on average. There are a wide variety of students who may drink way below or above the reported average.

Dean of Students Sister Annette Schmeling says it is all about balance. "Finding balance between all of the demands is essential," she said. "It is often difficult to fit everything into the 24/7 realities that we live with. Balance is a continual challenge. Having control over (alcohol) consumption, choosing when and how much to use, seldom results in negative consequences." The University of Dayton is a founding partner of the Alcohol Prevention Coalition, which has goals to prevent high-risk drinking and promote policies and practices as needed. Supporters include Chi Omega, Pi Beta Phi, Zeta Tau Alpha sororities, and Sigma Nu fraternity according to the Outside The Classroom Web site.

"We took part in an AlcoholEdu program last semester through the National Chi Omega organization," Chi Omega President Brianne Baricevic said. "In addition, we try to hold a lot of alcohol-free events." UD has implemented programs like AlcoholEdu, Alcohol Drug Abuse Prevention Team (A.D.A.P.T.) and the Alcohol Prevention Coalition so students can make the right choices and take safety precautions when dealing with alcohol.

For more information on this issue and UD's role in the Alcohol Prevention Coalition, visit http://www.outsidetheclassroom.com.

"The press release suggests that we've reached a tipping point in our country," Schmeling said. "We have taken many measures to reduce the risk of at-risk drinking on our campus and in the neighborhoods."