Students need to understand consequences of drinking
(Last updated: 04/22/09 7:11pm)More than 2.1 million students between the ages of 18 and 21 drove under the influence of alcohol in 2006. College binge drinking continues to dominate college campuses in the U.S. and claims many lives.
Since the drinking age is 21, there is a significant amount of underage drinking on college campuses, especially at well-renowned party schools. Students resort to playing beer pong, buying 24-packs of beer and storing hard liquor in dorm rooms.
Many students choose to attend a particular college because of its reputation as a party school. Universities and the surrounding communities should work together in order to reduce underage drinking on college campuses and prevent future consequences.
It was 2 a.m. when high-pitched screams could be heard down the hall. Doors were open and beer bottles were in hand. This is a typical scene inside a college residence hall with underage students at MSU. Party days last all week with rowdy students behaving irresponsibly.
Many undergraduates who party often are sidetracked from their studies and career choices. Students feel they can put off coursework and part-time pursuits — both professional and personal — aside, referring to the fantasy that there’s always next year.
It seems the heaviest drinkers on college campuses are students who live in a fraternity, sorority or in a residence hall. Students tend to host lavish parties with large amounts of alcohol being consumed in crowds of students mostly under the age of 21.
Undergraduates need to understand that there are consequences associated with excessive drinking, including primary and secondary effects. These effects can include noise pollution, fatal alcohol poisoning and humiliation.
Alcohol also can have a negative consequence on studies. It seems the more a student drinks, the lower his or her grade point average will tend to be.
College presidents need to take the initiative to work with students and the police in the surrounding areas to abate the predicament of underage drinking. Presidents need to start enforcing the rules and cracking down on drinkers; even banning alcohol from campus altogether, which could result in opposition and retaliation from students.
Universities can create a student-to-student program where nondrinkers can peer mediate student alcoholics through education on the severe consequences of drinking.
A more drastic approach would be to have universities put into effect a point system similar to points awarded for driving infractions. Crimes committed on and off campus would be subject to the point system and students would have to submit themselves to a hearing, education programs, suspension or possibly expulsion.
Underage students need to understand that if they violate the law and drink under the age of 21, it is a misdemeanor and this will appear on their permanent records. Heavy drinking tends to be more prominent in rural campuses with fewer activities. Colleges should consider having more alcohol-free events, including bringing in entertainers, concerts, indie bands, or even have poetry readings as alternatives to heavy drinking or partying.
Numerous college presidents are lobbying together in the Amethyst Initiative in order to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. The presidents presume that once the drinking age is lowered, it might help students to see alcohol at a younger age and drinking may not be that widespread of an issue once students enter college.
However, I believe lowering the drinking age will result in more alcohol-related incidents and college presidents should instead focus on offering other forms of entertainment and diminishing underage drinking. Universities should have the right to interfere with students’ personal lives if it affects their performance in the classroom.
As an alternative to lowering the drinking age, universities can work with local religious and community-based institutions to coordinate groups to advise against heavy drinking and the serious and severe consequences that can ensue.
This might even result in students getting involved with anti-drinking volunteer projects at the grassroots.
Anupama Sridaran
applied engineering sciences freshman
Originally Published: 04/22/09 7:11pm
i love college
04/22/09 9:00pmi love drinking.. yah
Jake
04/22/09 10:26pmSince you’re a freshman, I’m going to cut you some slack and fill you in on a little piece of information.
1. Students already understand the consequences.
2. They don’t care.
They would much rather drink and party until someone gets hurt or arrested, and then the bar, the cops, and everyone else but themselves. It’s the American way.
Jake
04/22/09 10:27pmWhoops, that’s and then blame the bar, the cops, and everyone else but themselves.
Life choices
04/22/09 11:12pmIts all about quality vs quantity. You can reflect on your freshman year and say “remember that time we were drunk and ….” or you could recount your college career of staying in or going bowling every Fri at the Union. To me I would rather take the risks.
Also drinking in college prepares you for the real world where alcohol is everywhere. Ever been on a golf course or at a bar and notice all the business that goes on there? Having sad social skills but a high GPA will get you a job nowhere but a laboratory.
BTW, I graduated undergrad with a above a 3.9 and went to burger rama and ricks religiously.
The Don
04/23/09 1:08amQuoting Life Choices
“Its all about quality vs quantity. You can reflect on your freshman year and say âremember that time we were drunk and â¦.â or you could recount your college career of staying in or going bowling every Fri at the Union. To me I would rather take the risks.
Also drinking in college prepares you for the real world where alcohol is everywhere. Ever been on a golf course or at a bar and notice all the business that goes on there?
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Dude...
04/23/09 7:55amWhy are you here?! In case you haven’t noticed, MSU is for rednecks, heavy partiers, and those who messed up earlier in their education. If you’re not a total loser and you care about your education, a transfer to U-M is in line.
LOL
04/23/09 8:11amI had a number of friends that transferred to UoM. They said the education is no different, but the people suck. And the girls are ugly. So **** off dbag, come to EL and say that.
Frank the Tank
04/23/09 9:43amAnupama:
“It seems the heaviest drinkers on college campuses are students who live in a fraternity, sorority or in a residence hall.”
What about those in apartments? Wouldn’t you say they are just as guilty, and maybe more so? Of course there are many “good” people in the apartments as well….. but you will still have to answer yes. So when you do, you’ll have to realize two things:
1.) That you have now included everyone but commuters, and
...2.) You can’t say that the heaviest drinkers hail from particular living quarters, it’s just dumb.
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Solution
04/23/09 9:56amAnupama, you sound a little stressed from classes. Have a drink, it will do you a world of wonder.
Dan
04/23/09 10:43amConsider me a case study for how naive this article is – binge drank four days a week at MSU for four years while living in dorms, apartments on-campus, apartments off-campus, and in a house, graduated with a 3.7 BSCE and landed a solid job. Now happily married with kids, living in a cozy house in suburbia, and still successful at work and active in the community. And guess what? My wife and I now take turns getting crocked on the weekends (somebody’s gotta watch the kid). The key is to know how to balance the partying and education. Don’t be such a stick in the mud.
beau
04/23/09 10:57amDear American: You blew your point with your rant about the guys possible origins. Is is possible Anupama was born in the US and just might actually be an “American” himself. Not everyone is named Dick or Bobby or Jane….Get a grip and find another moniker other then “American” cuz you ain’t much of a representative for the country bro.
Lou
04/23/09 11:22am@American, does that name really sound Middle Eastern to you? Not that it would make your idiotic comment any less repulsive, but I’m gonna go ahead and guess that the writer isn’t from the Middle East. You idiot.
That being said, this letter is absolutely ridiculous. Is the thinking behind that since prohibition always works so well we should try it on college campuses?
The whole point of the Amethyst Initiative is harm reduction.
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Casual SN Reader
04/23/09 12:29pmAmerican:
Most likely you got the religion wrong. Most Indians are Hindu. Quit while you are behind.
American
04/23/09 12:37pm13.4% practice Islam
Fact Police
04/23/09 12:38pmFYI-
Islam is the 2nd biggest religion in India at about 15-20%. I’m a gambling man; I like these odds. Maybe American is too.
Justin
04/23/09 12:39pmThis letter may demonstrate why this freshman chose engineering as opposed to anything to do with logic, reasoning and/or writing.
Most of us are here by choice, so why is it that you feel the University should have the “right” to interfere with students’ personal lives.
I am just going to resort to saying this is the most poorly written and elementary opinion I have read in my 3 years here.
Justin
04/23/09 12:41pmImagine, if you will, a question mark after the second sentence.
Casual SN Reader
04/23/09 1:00pmJustin: I agree that this is an ill-conceived opinion piece. Don’t knock on the engineers; everything we do is based on logic and reasoning!
Like ~80%>>>15%.
jeff
04/23/09 3:23pmim saving my comment for tonight when im drunk
WJR
04/23/09 7:09pmBob Dylan said, “don’t criticize what you can’t understand,” and I think this applies to you, Anupama. Now I’m not advising you to become an alcoholic, but not once in this article did you list off an alternative viewpoint from the casual college drinker’s perspective; which, in itself, not only makes your argument faulty but ignorant as well… that is, unless you can think of a better term for suggesting borderline fascist sanctions against something you’ve (presumably) never tried.
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Lucy
04/23/09 7:35pmWell, I’ve drank on a regular basis all through college (and most of them were binge drinking, gasp!), and guess what? I’m graduating, in 4 years, with honor, and have completed 3 majors. I’ve also been able to hold down two part time jobs this entire time. And guess what? I’ve been accepted to several grad schools, and received two very good financial offers from them. And I did all of this while drinking once or twice a week. I’m not saying that drinking does not have a negative effect on some people’s grades and lives, but these sweeping generalizations? Coming from a freshman? You have a lot to learn and experience before you can pass these judgments.
yuuki
04/23/09 11:15pmwhile it’s fine that everyone can get drunk regularly and get excellent grades, but do you have any idea how annoying it is to be studying at midnight and have drunk people screaming all around you? Imagine there’s no quiet place to study (other than the library, which i will not walk to at midnight).
maybe I am biased (in fact, I know I am) against anyone who drinks but I have my reasons…and alcohol smells so bad (never tried it).
peace! ^-^V
i'm not a conceited person
04/24/09 6:52amIf you have to brag about your endeavors on an online message forum for a newspaper, you have other issues. No one cares about your GPA Lucy et al.
Alum
04/24/09 10:32amNoise pollution – WTF?
re: alum
04/24/09 7:13pmI really don’t know how you earned your degree (bribery perhaps?), however, noise pollution does exist.
“http://www.quiet.org/faq.htm”
joke?
04/27/09 2:05amYeah, about this; I’m pre-law and have a 4 point gpa, am a member of the Greek System, and have had my fair share of drinks. Let’s not throw entire organizations under the bus, i.e. Fraternities, for doing what the rest of campus does (and with a higher average GPA than non-Greeks, nonetheless). Way to go State News, way to think your argument through.
Anybody up for LuHas tomorrow afternoon?
joke brah
04/27/09 1:28pmyeah brah, let’s get drunk on Natty Ice afterwards too.
Erin
04/27/09 4:29pm“Universities can create a student-to-student program where nondrinkers can peer mediate student alcoholics through education on the severe consequences of drinking.”
I think this is the worst idea over. Though it makes me wonder whether or not you know the meaning of “alcoholics”. “Alcoholics” does not simply refer to people who drink, “alcoholics” are people who have an addiction to alcohol.
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kill me
05/05/09 12:37amI think what you need to be focusing on is advocating for suicide prevention groups, for all your past, present, and future roommates and neighbors…
And please don’t talk about laws when you don’t understand them. Underage drinking will result in an M.I.P (with the crucial part of this being that one has to get CAUGHT). Thanks to the Holmes act, it does NOT stay on your permanent record.
I really hope I never have the displeasure of meeting you in person, ever.