The habitual drinking of Austin’s residents landed Texas’s capital the 5 slot in The Daily Beast’s report of the 25 Drunkest Cities.

To rank each city, the publication calculated the number of alcoholic beverages consumed per person and separately accounted for the percent of binge and heavy drinkers in each city. Although St. Edward’s University’s students are not binge drinking at the same rate as other Austinites, they drink at about the same rate as the rest of the city’s adults.

To identify the average consumption of St. Edward’s students, Hilltop Views conducted a 10-question survey.

The survey reported that, on average, St. Edward’s students typically drink one to two days a week and consume three to four drinks at a time. This is on pace with The Daily Beast’s report, which says the average adult Austinite consumes roughly 15 alcoholic drinks per month.

The survey for St. Edwards’s students addressed underage drinking, which The Daily Beast’s report does not. Ninety-two percent of students surveyed felt alcohol is easily accessible for underage drinkers.

“Alcohol is extremely accessible for anyone who knows an older person who is willing to buy it for them, or if they have a fake ID to get into places around Austin,” Esmeralda Perez, junior, said.

Despite ease of accessing alcohol, it is illegal for students under 21 to drink, and St. Edward’s takes many measures to try and stop underage drinking. Alcohol and drug policies are sent out each year to inform students of state law and university standards, which are devised in accordance to Texas laws.

University policy only allows students over the age of 21 to have alcohol in their on campus apartment or residence hall. Underage students who violate university policies will submit to disciplinary action with University Police and the Dean of Students.

“Violations to the student code of conduct can result in conduct probation until the completion of three sanctions, which included the Alcholedu online course, alcohol skills training and a written three to four page reflection on the incident. Students also face other penalties with University Police Department when violating the Alcohol and Drug Other Drug Policy,” Residence Director for Student Conduct Jen Wichman said.

University Police, the Dean of Students and Resident Life work together to design policies, provide educational resources about alcohol and a safe educational environment for students. Despite their effort there are a number of alcohol incidents that occur every year. Last year, there were 102 alcohol related incidents at St. Edward’s, which is slightly lower than the average for the last five years, 112.

“A committee that consists of Residence life, University police and the Dean of Students get together to evaluate the year, edit the code of conduct and develop measures to educate students on the policies,” Associate Dean of Students Steven Pinenburg said.

The Health and Counseling center also requires every first year student to complete a three-hour course, AlcoholEdu for Colleges. The course is designed to inform the student of the affects of alcohol in the hopes of inspiring good decision making for success.

“Overall, it [AlcoholEdu] was helpful in identifying how alcohol influences each student personally. It asked questions designed to fit me specifically, but I will say that some parts drag on and were not clear,” Cindy Gutierrez, freshman, said.