A recent study by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism conservatively approximated that nearly 1,400 college student's deaths, 500,000 student's injuries, and 70,000 student's cases of date rape or sexual assault can be directly related to alcohol use each year(Wechsler). For many decades, especially during college years, students have participated in binge drinking. Binge drinking is also known as "binging" and has many definitions, but numerous people would agree that it is the consumption of five more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women at one time or one sitting. The numbers four and five are only to warn people that they should cut themselves off, but many more drinks are usually consumed while binge drinking. One "drink" can be defined as one twelve ounce beer, one four ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5 ounce shot of liquor(Harding). This brings on changes to the physical and mental make up of your body when under the influence.
Group of Woodbine Agricultural School students, Wo...
Auburn University students at ASAP conference
A Kranz (wreath) of Kölsch beer.While binge drinking, one may come to have an altered state of mind, loss of reality, impaired judgment, and increasingly high self esteem. Far more serious causes of binge drinking include vomiting, slurred speech, loss of balance, alcohol poisoning, or even death. Lack if parental control, peer pressure from fellow students, and the surrounding environment are all cause of binge drinking.
For the majority of students the first year of college is the first time in their lives without having a parent breathing down their necks and scrutinizing all the decisions they make. This gives students a new found freedom they did not have while living with their parents. When students first arrive onto campus they want to fit in and be accepted. They may have insecurities about themselves, but binging allows students to feel better...