When someone thinks of the state of Wisconsin a couple things come to mind; Packers, cheese, and of course beer. When someone thinks of college in Wisconsin they think of some of the biggest party schools in the nation. It is no wonder people think that Wisconsin college students have bad drinking habits, with events like Halloween on State Street and Mifflin Street Block Party that take place in Madison. Let’s take a more local view with the La Crosse area. La Crosse has events like Oktoberfest, Beer, Wine, and Cheese Festival, and the Kul Duel. It is no wonder other states think Wisconsin students drink in large quantities. When taking just Madison and La Crosse Wisconsin in to consideration there are a lot of opportunities to drink, drink large quantities.
When examining pop culture in terms of binge drinking in a college setting there are a lot of things that seem to make it ok to do. Take a look at movies over the years, with movies like Animal House, College, and America Pie Beta House. They all have scenes in them where college students take binge drinking to the extreme. Rapper Asher Roth’s writes about binge drinking in his song, I love College. With lyrics like “pass out at three, wake up at ten, go out to eat then do it again”, “So fill up my cup, let’s get f*ck up”, “Hold the beer bong, nothing wrong with some fun even, if we did get a little bit too drunk, Time isn't wasted when you're getting wasted”. These movies and songs make the youth think that when they get to college that is how they need to act to be cool or fit in. That binge drinking is an acceptable behavior.
This paper will present some facts about binge drinking behavior in college students along with some of the consequences of binge drinking. It will also give a personal experience about binge drinking in college. Binge drinking starts around the age of 13, and tends to become more extreme with age. It normally increases in young adults, ages 18 to 22. After young adulthood binge drinking behavior is likely to decrease. Binge drinking is four to five drinks in one sitting. Even with laws in every state not making it ok to drink before the age of 21, minors say it is easier than one would think, to get alcohol. High school and college students say,” they drink with one goal, which is to get drunk”. This is what the U.S Department of Alcohol and Drug said. In 2005 about 10.8 millions students in the age group of 12-20 reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. Of the 10.8 million surveyed, 7.2 million were binge drinking and 2.3 million of them were heavy drinkers. 44 percent of students attending a four year college drinks at a binge drinking level or higher. Many college presidents say that binge drinking is the biggest problem that they have on their campus. Harvard School of Public Health did a study in 2000 about why students binge drink; and here are some of the responses, like stated early, the biggest reason is to get drunk, status associated with drinking, culture of alcohol consumption on campus, peer pressure, and academic stress.
The facts of binge drinking have been presented. Now the side effects of such drinking need to be examined. Students think that binge drinking is all about fun and having a good time, but they do not realize the negative effects it has on their body and school. Students that binge drink are 21 time more likely to miss class, fall behind in their classes, damaged property, have injuries, have unplanned sex, have unprotect sex, drive under the influence, and have trouble with campus police or the police in general. The biggest thing that binge drinking can do to the body is cause alcohol poisoning. Signs of alcohol poisoning are vomiting, temperature change from hot to cold, clammy palms, flush skin, and slowed breathing. When someone consumes a large amount of alcohol the brain is deprived of oxygen. It struggles to deal with an overdose of alcohol and lack of oxygen will eventually cause the brain to shut down the voluntary functions that regulates breathing and the heart rate. That is what is called a blackout. The information about the side effects of binge drinking was taken from the U.S Department of Health and Human Service of Alcohol and Drug.
An interview of a student at the University Wisconsin La Crosse, Matt Karbula, was conducted. Questions about his drinking habits were asked. In one weekend (Thursday-Saturday) how many drinks do you have? He said “about 20”. The next question was, why do you drink? “It leads to enjoyable times, and giving into the ways of the culture and atmosphere that college experience brings, I also like to play drinking games”. What do you drink? “Beer, I don’t like to drink hard alcohol”, he stated. Is it easy for you to get alcohol even though you are not of age (he is 20), and do you worry about getting in trouble? “Yes, it is easy for me to get alcohol and no, I don’t worry about getting in trouble with the law. I’m pretty responsible when it comes to my drinking”. The last question asked of him was do you have your drinking under control? He said “yes, I know my limits, so I know when it is quitting time for the night”.
After looking at all the information collected, I have decided to share some of my binge drinking habits. When I think of myself I do not consider myself a binge drinker. I consider myself an average Wisconsin college student. When I was a first year student I would go out every Thursday – Saturday and get drunk. Now that I’m in my third year I have clam down with my drinking. I will go out maybe two times a weekend, but it is not about to see how drunk I can get. When you are younger I think that you think you need to go out every night on the weekends to be cool and fit it. When I was younger it was just as easy for me to get alcohol that is now that I am of age. When I was underage I was not worried about getting in trouble with the law. I think my attitude change with drinking last year when I was on spring break in Panama City Beach. My second night there I got to the point of blacking out pretty early in the night. The next day was the roughest day of my drinking experiences. I could not keep food or water down no matter how much my body needed the nourishment. I was pale looking and experiencing hot and cold sweats. The group of guys I was with considered taking me hospital so I could get help for alcohol poisoning. I probably should have gone, but I started to show signs of getting better so I was not taken in.
Binge drinking is a serious thing if it is not understood, what it is and what it causes. I feel ever since that day down in Panama City Beach I have learned my lesson. I don’t go out with the goal of getting drunk, or to the point that I will throw up all over the place. I mean let’s face it that is not fun anyway so why would you want to get to that level.
Work Cited
SAMHSA. "Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students." Web. 08 May 2010.
"Binge Drinking on College Campuses." Dec. 2008. Web. 08 May 2010.
“FACT SHEET:BINGE DRINKING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES." Mar. 2000. Web. 08 May 2010.
“Binge Drinking in College."Grant Gysbers, Matt Karbula. Personal interview. 08 May 2010.
Asher Roth. "I Love College." Rec. 12 May 2009. Asleep in the Bread Aisle. Mike Caren, 2009. CD.
