Drinking in College

Drinking in College

Drinking in College

 

So What's the Big Deal?

Who Drinks, What Happens and How to Do it Safely

College - that wonderful time in life when young adults become adults. Move out of your parents' house, sleep in as late as you want, and spend your nights funneling beer and competing in drinking contests with your buddies. This is just the way it is, right? The reality is this assumption is incorrect, and the notion that this is "normal" is actually a very harmful idea. Sure, drinking alcohol can be fun, but it can also be much more dangerous than the average college student realizes. Before you bust out the kegs and liquor bottles, give this article a quick read to make sure you're informed to make healthy choices and responsible decisions.

Everyone Does It, Right? Not Exactly...

Every college student drinks, right? Not exactly, but it is quite easy to understand why that's the general impression most people get. Studies by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA) show that 4 out of 5 college students drink alcohol to varying extents. That still leaves 20% of college students not drinking, which is a larger number than a lot of people would probably guess. Of the 80% of college students who do drink, about half of those consume alcohol through binge drinking (see below). Like we said, not every college student drinks, and there are even organizations for those students who are fed up with the binge drinking of their peers. Many experts also believe that if college students were made aware by the college that not everyone drinks, less college students would actually drink. Peer pressure plays a big role in college drinking, especially when the culture of a campus seems to provide peer pressure of its own. Unfortunately, the reality is that even though college drinking is so widespread it is actually quite far from harmless.

Binge Drinking

So are we telling you that having a cold beer on a Friday night is going to kill you? No, we're not that naive or ignorant (unless you're underage, but that's another discussion altogether). The dangerous aspect of college drinking is known as binge drinking. Definitions of this term vary, but the core concept is episodic excessive drinking in a short period of time. Any activity focused on getting plastered is typically going to be considered binge drinking. In fact many people define having more than 5 drinks in a relatively short period of time (less than 2 hours) to be binge drinking. That means grabbing a six pack and chugging it as quickly as you can would qualify as binge drinking. Even less than five drinks can get somebody drunk, especially if they are female, light in weight, or both.

Binge drinking is not the glamorous activity it's made out to be in movies and television. Aside from the obvious damage it can do to your liver, and the rest of your body for that matter, there are lots of dangers that result from binge drinking. The same NIAA studies show that over 690,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 will be assaulted by someone who has been consuming alcohol. More than 97,000 students of the same age group will be victims of alcohol-related sexual assault and/or date rape. 100,000 students report having been too drunk to remember if they consented to a sexual act or not. Nearly 2,000 college students die each year from alcohol-related injuries. Even 25 percent of college students admit that their drinking has a negative effect on their academics. Binge drinkers aren't just a menace to themselves, it's estimated that 3,360,000 students drive under the effects of alcohol annually. The U.S. Department of Transportation says "Alcohol-related highway crashes are the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults in the United States." When you take a look at these facts, it's easy to see how dangerous binge drinking actually is to the health and safety of college students everywhere.

How to Be Safe

There are a lot of numbers and stats here to digest, and it may sound preachy to you. If you made it to this section, congratulations, you've at least educated yourself on the dangers of excessive drinking and will at least be prepared to make a proper decision for yourself. We are not telling you that drinking is evil, or that if you drink a beer today you will cause harm to someone tonight. We are simply attempting to provide you with the facts, so that you'll be prepared to make informed responsible decisions when the time arises. If you're of legal age (and about 60% of US college students are), there's nothing wrong with enjoying alcohol in moderation with your friends. There is a time and a place for everything, and as mentioned moderation is the key to responsible drinking. When you do decide to drink, don't binge drink, make sure to do so in a safe environment, and NEVER get behind the wheel of a car or even in the car of somebody else who has been drinking. Have a designated driver. Know your limits and adhere to them. Keep track of how much you've been drinking. Never leave a drink unattended as this makes you an easy target for the drugging of your drink leading to sexual assault.

Drinking is a touchy subject. You may have read this and think we're overreacting. You may think the people doing these studies simply don't know what they're talking about. We're not here to lecture you; we just think you deserve to know all of the facts available so you can make your own decisions based on the numbers. Please, if you're going to drink alcohol, do so responsibly.