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Universities in the western Japanese prefecture of Osaka aretackling on the prevalence of alcohol- related harassment amongcollege students amid rising concerns over the loss of young livesfrom excessive alcohol. In Japan, a danger to students who participate in drinking partiesis reportedly emerging, especially when they are forced to drink inspring time, the start of the academic year for most of theeducational institutions. Local press earlier this month warneduniversities and organizations involved in alcohol abuse shouldtake a series of measures to raise awareness of the danger ofalcohol harassment, or "aruhara." On May 7, nine students at the Otaru University of Commerce inJapan's northern island of Hokkaido were taken to hospital due toalcohol poisoning. Doctors said one freshman was unconscious. The hospitalized students were members of a group consisting ofaround 60 men and women associated with the university's AmericanFootball Club. They collapsed following an extended period ofalcohol consumption at a party. According to Japan Specified Non-profit Corporation to PreventAlcohol and Drug Problems, or ASK, two students in Japan havealready died after enforced drinking. The organization said in the 2010 academic year, for example, therewere nearly 80 cases of insurance benefits being paid to studentswho were hospitalized for acute alcohol poisoning. ASK spokespersonAkiko Baba, in an interview with Xinhua, estimated that the actualnumber of those carried to medical institutions could be much morethan the official data. To stop the tragic incidents resulted from "aruhara," atotal of 70 university staff and students of Kansai University inOsaka Prefecture last month worked with ASK to distribute more than2, 000 flyers which inform the students about the danger of alcoholpoisoning. The campaign also gained support from some 20 local liquor shops inaddition to bars and restaurants around the university campus. At the same time the university put up posters illustrated by theASK members in hoardings of its campus in order to stop unsociableway of drinking, or "binge" drinking, with phrasestressing not to force anyone to drink against his/her will. Also, Kinki University with more than 30,000 students, which holdthe largest number in terms of students and graduates in westernJapan, advised students not to practice "binge" drinkingat parties, using some 20 project screens installed in each cornerof the university buildings. A spokesman of the university told Xinhua that the university' sstudent affairs office increased the number of announcements thisspring time so that students could pay more attention to the riskof enforced alcohol drinking, changing the campaigning words inseveral ways day by day. In Osaka City University, meanwhile, students are stronglyrecommended to use patch test organized by the university's healthand medical service center. The method is introduced so that eachstudent can know whether he/she can possess acetaldehydedehydrogenase which can detoxify alcohol in body. "During the test, the challengers are given a small sealabsorbed a tiny amount of alcohol and applied to their skin. 20minutes later, they will know the results," Shoko Hata, aspokesperson of the center said. Talking about alcohol poisoning, Hata attributed the main reasonfor such emerging problems to the atmospheres or particularenvironments in which students could not decline to drink in thesite since an attitude refusing alcohol could be often consideredas "not smart" or "not sociable" at such"welcome" parties held by university-sponsoredextracurricular organizations and student-organized clubs. Referring to the increase of reported cases concerning alcohol-related harassment among students, ASK spokesperson Baba noted thatmost of the incidents happened when students drank with seniorcollege organization or club members. She noted the characteristicof college students is, without doubt, an important factor to causea series of the fatal incidents. "Nowadays, younger people in Japan often want to avoidconsensus-breaking behavior, regardless of his/her intentions,thinking showing such an 'unsociable' manner in meeting isdisrespect to other members," she said. "As long as the vicious circle in which students are forced todrink by the senior members could not be disrupted, we will seemore tragic 'aruhara' incidents", she noted. Author Source xinhua Editor Yang Xiaoming. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Custom Printed Shopping Bags , Gift Cardboard Boxes Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Cardboard Suitcase Boxes.
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