Attitudes of the Culture:
COLLEGE STUDENTS
Alcohol & College Students
Entering college can be an exciting time with new experiences and a new found freedom. Gaining independence can come with some big responsibility and choices than can affect your future. Four out of five college students consume alcohol at some point during their college life. Up to 50% of college students engage in binge drinking by consuming too much alcohol in too little of a time frame. (Carol Glabicsek,2019)The availability of alcohol at sporting events or social gatherings can make it hard for a young person to say no. It can become very tempting for young people. Many will drink within the first six weeks of their freshman year. Many fall under peer pressure and begin a bad cycle of drinking. Binge drinking for men is consuming 5 or more alcoholic drinks in 2 hours while for women it is consuming 4 or more drinks in 2 hours. (Carol Glabicsek, 2019) Over the last couple decades college students started consuming hard liquor over beer. Some are not drinking to socialize but are drinking to get drunk with the end goal to drink as much as they can. (Carol Glabicsek, 2019) These toxic behaviors can lead to blackouts and even alcohol poisoning.
Binge drinking effects male & female. Retrieved from blog.frontiersin.org
Alcohol & binge drinking. Retrieved from downtowndentalnashville.com
Effects of College Drinking
Drinking in college can get in the way of your goals. For some drinking begins to become a big problem affecting students grades, their attendance , and their studying habits. One in four students admitted they have gotten a bad grade due to drinking. (Carol Galbicsek, 2019) Some end up having to retake classes which costs them thousands of dollars resulting in push back on their graduation. Some students may even harm themselves unintentionally. Some 600,000 college students unintentionally injure themselves due to heavy drinking causing bruising ,fractures and muscle sprains. (Carol Galbicsek, 2018)
Drinking can lower a person's inhibitions leaving them vulnerable for a physical or sexual assault. Fifty percent of student sexual assaults involve alcohol. (Alcohol.org,2020) Ninety percent of rapes by an acquaintance of the victim involve alcohol and 43 % of sexual assault involve use of alcohol by the victim . (Alcohol.org, 2020) It is sad to know that in some cases these sexual assaults could have been prevented by avoiding the use of alcohol.
MYTHS
Sadly , many students enter college and believe they have no other choice but to drink like everyone else. This is not true. About 40% of college students drink on a daily basis which tells us that many more people are saying no than yes. (Morris Green,2014) Many students along with people in general believe that alcohol is not a drug. Alcohol is a drug, just because it is legal does not mean it is not a drug. Alcohol is #1 misused drug/substance. (Morris Green,2015) A drug is a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced to the body. (Morris Green, 2015) Heavy use can lead to alcoholism which is a drug addiction. Some other myths about alcohol are you can't have a party without alcohol and having a few drinks is okay. These are both incorrect, having as little as a 4 ounce drink can impair your focus and behavior if you are not used to drinking. (Morris Green, 2014) There is plenty of fun to be had at parties without alcohol involved. People think they won't fit in if they don't drink. This could not be farthest from the truth, the right people will support your decision not to drink.
Education is key. Talking to young ones about drinking at an early stage is a good start. It does not mean a child will never drink. Having good lines of communication throughout your child's life will help them to be able to communicate with you when difficult situations arise. Educating students about alcohol and the effects it can have on their life is so important.
Here is some great links:
References
Alcohol.org (2020) An American Addiction Centers Resource: Sexual Assault on College Campuses Involving Alcohol. Retrieved from www.alcohol.org
Carol Galbicsek (2019) College Alcoholism. Retrieved from www.alcoholrehabguide.org
Morris Green (2014) 5 Myths College Students Believe About Alcohol. Retrieved from www.absoluteadvocacy.org
I remember when I went to college for the first time. I went to Ferris State at the age of 17. I remember welcome week, where there are parties everywhere and people are drinking constantly. Where Ferris is, at the time, there was nothing else to do. You either went to the bar that was known to serve under aged patrons, or to the middle of the woods where you drank around a fire, or to a house party. There were more MIPs than diplomas I think. I was one of the lucky ones that made it out without an MIP, but I also didn't make it out with a diploma. My teenage years were rough, so when I got to Ferris I felt free. I found myself drinking every night and skipping class every morning. This in turn led to me being kicked out of school. But that was the worst thing that happened to me. While I was there multiple people were arrested, there were fights and car accidents, my roommate even fell out of her uber and broke her front teeth because she was too drunk. It is crazy how easily accessible alcohol is to teens, and how hard it is to get help for this problem. The solution is to put people in jail for the night and then make them take a class after but it doesn't solve the problem. I think that more work needs to be done to address this issue, and provide support to teens who are feeling the pressure during college.
ReplyDeleteNichole, I loved your blog. I felt as though you included a lot of good information about how much college freshmen drinks and gets behind on their class work. I have had lots of friends that opted to college life. They did not understand why it was that I did not go to college on campus, asked me a lot if I wasn’t going to miss out on the college life. I didn’t see the need to party all the time and drink. A lot of them had to re do courses like you had stated and even went to different campuses so that they won’t be behind on graduation. They parted hard and showed their parting ways on social media. What made it worst is that most of my friends were in sororities and fraternities that had parties very often for no reason at all, just to have a reason to drink and have fun. It is said that “Students involved in specific social organizations, especially fraternities or sororities, are more likely to drink alcohol and binge drink compared to their peers ("Are There Laws Against Hazing?", 2020).” Your blog was very informative and very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteReference
Are There Laws Against Hazing?. (2020). Retrieved 4 April 2020, from https://www.alcohol.org/laws/hazing-with-alcohol/