Chris McAndrew
Prof. Voccola
Copy and Line Editing
10 December 2010
American Binge Drinking: The College Vice
Every culture has different aspects that make them unique; this goes for every single
country. Whether this aspect is within the culture itself, in the government, or even just simply
the language, countries are all different. The United States is known for having an increasingly
rich and diverse culture. With the start of such phenomenon as fast food, and various
technological advances, it’s no wonder that many people are interested in the US culture. One of
the United State’s cultural aspects that is nationally accepted and participated in is binge
drinking. Often done by college students, this is a practice that has increased every year in the
US, and its dangers are largely evident. Though many other countries culture’s experiment in
excess with alcohol, US college’s have turned binge drinking into a social fad that must be done
in order to gain any social respect. If this problem is not dealt with accordingly, the practice will
become a permanent lifestyle and health risk for every US college graduate.
Alcohol has been a part of the United State’s culture since it was first founded. Early
American and Colonial settlements drank alcohol to get away from all the chores and work that
needed to be done. Several laws were formed to try to stop the excess drinking, but it seemed to
continue. Alcohol played a very important role in early war’s as well. During the civil war,
alcohol was used as an anesthesia drink because of its cheap prices, as compared to actual
anesthetic medicine (“Alcohol in American”).
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Alcohol was continually used in excess in American until 1920. Due to such a large
number of American “drunks,” and heavy pressure from the temperance movement, the US
government signed the prohibition of alcohol in 1920. This made the sale, manufacturing, and
consumption of alcohol illegal. Though the means of this law was to slow the number of
drinkers and reduce crime, it did the exact opposite. Crime turned to an all time high, and many
still found their fixes of alcohol through illegal distributers (Graham 1).
After prohibition ended in 1933, alcohol stayed as one of the top products in the US.
Though the government thought of it as a bad habit and something not to be used, alcohol
continued to be a large part of US culture. This remains true, even in today’s society.
American’s have embraced alcohol as cultural means, and the use of alcohol in excess seems to
also be embraced.
The US culture has seen its share of “fads.” In the 1960s, 70s, and 80s the drug culture
was a big part of many American’s lives. Many believed this trend would stay, but, for the most
part, the large number of drug users came down. Then, in the 90s, with the increase of college
admissions, and the huge popularity of fraternities, the drinking era began. Once the
consequences got too large for drugs, alcohol became the new vice. Binge drinking is defined by
encyclopedia.com as consuming 5 or more alcoholic beverages in a row on a single occasion. In
a 1993 survey of 17,592 US college students, researchers at the Department of Health and Social
Behavior at the Harvard School of Public Health found that 44%, almost half of the students
surveyed, admitted to being binge drinkers (Wechsler 1). Within that percent, about 19%
admitted to being frequent binge drinkers. With this amount of binge drinkers, college’s
everywhere also started to see a huge increase in injuries and crime. In the same study, about
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47% of those binge drinkers admitted to various drinking-related problems, including injuries,
and engaging in unplanned sex (Wechsler 1).
Even though these numbers are very high and unbelievable, they would only get worse
from there. College students continued to binge drink, and pressure other students into doing the
same. Many fraternities were infamous in recruiting pledges by offering free alcoholic
beverages, and free parties. With these influences, more and more college students began binge
drinking. In another study done by researchers, from 1993 to 2001, the number of US binge
drinkers increased from 1.2 billion to 1.5 billion (Naimi 1). This means that every year from
1993 to 2001, binge drinking numbers raised 17%. College students have turned binge drinking
into a necessity for everyone. In the same study, researchers found that about 81% of these
binge drinkers were male, and the rest female. Again, they also found that many automobile
accidents, injuries, and crimes were often fueled by alcoholic beverages or binge drinking
(Naimi 1).
Many students in these various surveys told researchers that they did not consider their
drinking to be a problem. Often times, students do not realize the damaging effects that binge
drinking does to the human body. The damages to the body can include psoriasis of the liver,
brain damage, memory loss, and the list goes on (Campbell 1). These side effects may not affect
the student until much later on in life, but they can be very detrimental. Binge drinking is also
becoming a problem with students current school work. After a night of binge drinking, many
students experience a hangover. This is when the body is so drained from regular fluids, that it
becomes overly dehydrated. This causes headaches, stomach pains, nausea, and other various
symptoms (Graham 1).
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There are many different reasons that students binge drink, but most say it is to escape.
In today’s colleges and schools, there are many different pressures on students to perform at their
best. The responsibilities of a college student are very high, and after the week is over, many
students want to relax and drink alcohol. This amount of alcohol and forms of binge drinking
has increased every year, and it’s still getting worse. In a report done for the Wine Trade Action
Group, a student interview told the researchers, “I work hard so I’ll play hard” (“Binge
Drinking…”). These students believe that since they work so hard during the week, they can go
out on the weekends and drink large amounts of alcohol. When these activities are done every
weekend, the person’s body will not be thanking them in the future. In the same report, students
even called binge drinking “a rite of passage.” College has become a way for students to
experiment with alcohol in any way they want. Through this, students are taken into the
category of binge drinkers (“Binge Drinking…”).
Another explanation for such large numbers of binge drinkers are ads geared toward
college students. Alcohol companies often make their advertisements around what college
students want. The commercials for alcohol often depict a young person drinking that
company’s beverage and being surrounded by many good looking people. These commercials
make students want to drink and be accepted by a large group of people. These companies also
gear their pricing for college students. Students who binge drink consume large amounts of
alcohol, and are therefore looking for cheap products. Companies will lower their prices in
hopes that more college students will purchase their product because of such a cheap price. With
this, these students are able to buy gratuitous amounts of alcohol for a cheap price (“Binge
Drinking…”).
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The alcohol companies are not the only ones to blame. Local bars will also have
established nights for cheap drinks. Many bars will advertise nights when alcoholic beverages
are sold at very low prices. These nights are often on school nights as well, so this will interfere
with school work. With bars in almost every college town, the numbers of drinkers increase
because of these low prices.
Binge drinking is problematic for many college students because it interferes with school
work, but some let it take over their life completely. In an article discussing college dropouts,
one of the top reasons was because of the partying (Geller 1). Some college students have noted
to going out and binge drinking almost every night of the week. In doing this, it becomes almost
impossible to concentrate on any school work. Also, when a person believes that binge drinking
will make them more popular or accepted by a certain group, they tend to be more focused on
that then anything else. For this reason, many college freshmen, who do not have a set group of
friends yet, often succumb to college pressures and become binge drinkers. From that point on,
they are known as binge drinkers and will most likely continue to binge drink throughout their
college career.
US colleges and universities have tried to put together numerous agencies and watch
groups to contain and lower the numbers of binge drinkers, but the numbers do not seem to be
decreasing. Binge drinker numbers are still on the rise and students show no signs of letting up.
With state funded grants and agencies like the LCB, or Liquor Control Board, the institutions
hope to at least lower the number of underage binge drinkers. If these groups do not work, the
number of binge drinkers will continue to increase, and so will the number of injuries, crime, and
college drop-outs. Binge drinking is a dangerous and risky practice, and students need to
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understand that they may not see the problems now, but the future will hold the harsh effects of
their college vice.
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Works Cited
"Alcohol in America." Alcohol in America. 2005. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.
<http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00492/Alcohol_in_America.htm>.
"Binge Drinking." Social Research - Social Trends Analysis. SIRC Organization, 2009. Web. 09
Dec. 2010. <http://www.sirc.org/publik/binge_drinking.shtml>.
Campbell, Denis. "Regular Binge Drinking Can Cause Long-term Brain Damage - Study |
Society | The Guardian." Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian |
Guardian.co.uk. Guardian, 29 Dec. 2008. Web. 09 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/29/binge-drinking-brain-damage-study>.
Geller, Juliette. "The College Dropout: Why Students Leave School - Collegenews."
CollegeNews - The Voice Of The College Student. College News, 2009. Web. 09 Dec.
2010.
<http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/higher_education_needs_to_be_reform
ed_to_keep_students_in_school_121120095789235/>.
Graham, Colleen. "What Causes a Hangover?" Cocktails, Mixed Drinks, Bartending and
Mixology on About.com. About.com, 2009. Web. 09 Dec. 2010.
<http://cocktails.about.com/od/healthsafety/a/hngovr_101a_2.htm>.
Naimi, Timothy, Robert Brewer, Ali Mokdad, Clark Denny, Mary Serdula, and James Marks.
"Binge Drinking Among US Adults, January 1, 2003, Naimi Et Al. 289 (1): 70 —
JAMA." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, a Weekly Peerreviewed Medical Journal Published by AMA — JAMA. Divison of Public Health
Training, 2001. Web. 09 Dec. 2010. <http://jama.amaassn.org/content/289/1/70.abstract>.
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Works Cited Cont.
Wechsler, Henry, Andrea Davenport, George Dowdall, Barbara Moeykens, and Sonia Castillo.
"Health and Behavioral Consequences of Binge Drinking in College, December 7, 1994,
Wechsler Et Al. 272 (21): 1672 — JAMA." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical
Association, a Weekly Peer-reviewed Medical Journal Published by AMA — JAMA.
Harvard School of Public Health, 1993. Web. 09 Dec. 2010. <http://jama.amaassn.org/content/272/21/1672.abstract>.