\u201cAre you drinking tonight?\u201d
\n\u201cLet\u2019s get wasted.\u201d
\n\u201cI was so drunk I don\u2019t remember anything from last night.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a college student, these are the conversations I\u2019m surrounded by. Many students are far more concerned about their nighttime binge drinking plans than the big project that\u2019s due next week. I saw far too many of my peers bent over a toilet throwing up, or even worse put into an ambulance because alcohol was to blame. They consider drinking a rite of passage, a way to make friends, and a way to have fun.<\/p>\n
For all these reasons, underage drinking is often an overlooked problem. However, alcohol is the most widely misused substance among American youth according to SAMSHA. The discussion we need to have is not \u201cdo you need alcohol to have fun\u201d (the answer, very obviously no), instead we should be discussing the dangers these habits possess and the problem that binge drinking is creating.<\/p>\n
The truth is, many students come to college with established drinking habits, and college only exacerbates the issue. According to a national survey, almost 60% of college students ages 18-22 drank alcohol in the past month, and 2 out of 3 engaged in binge drinking behavior. Even worse? More than 1,800 college students between the ages of 18-24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, student on student assault is dramatically increased when alcohol is involved and so is sexual assault \u2013 97,000 students reported alcohol-related assault or rape.<\/p>\n
Personally, I am fearful of the drinking environment. I don\u2019t understand the mentality to it. The thought of losing control and not having inhibitions is frightening. Yet, with the fear comes the pressure to \u2018fit in\u2019 to not be \u2018an outsider.\u2019 I suddenly felt bad for staying in and studying on a Saturday night. I realize that I was not the first nor would I be the last college student to feel this way. \u00a0<\/p>\n