The Grand Views

Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Features

Media Credit: Austin Harrington To drink or not to drink [Click to enlarge]

The snow had crystallized on his beard forming tiny icicles and he was panting heavily as if reeling from a marathon. Blood dripping from his hands formed a puddle near his bare feet. At this moment, 21-year-old Austin Harrington lost all sense of well being, and this bloody scene in a doorway of an Iowa City apartment will be the last memory of his life as a drinker.

Drinking has been a pastime for college students on almost all campuses forever, but newer generations are putting a twist on the keg parties of their parents.

With the invention of drinking games such as "Beer Pong" and "Flippy Cup," and easier access to alcohol through advances in fake id technology students are being subjected to more alcohol per year than their parents saw in all four years.

Many of these games promote binge drinking and are big draws for underage drinkers. According to American Journal of Medicine binge drinking is consuming more than four 12oz. beverages in a single sitting.

These games draw in younger students because they can be played at house parties away from the watching eye of administration and are cheap to play. A keg of beer provides approximately 140-150 12oz. beers. This provides ample opportunity for minors to get drunk.

Underage and binge drinking can cause more than headaches. About 1,700 students ages 18-24 die every year and 600,000 are injured due to alcohol related incidents, according to an annual study done by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Alcohol also leads to more than 696,000 assaults and more than 97,000 sexual assaults on campus.

A startling criminal statistic found by the MADD survey said 2.1 million students ages 18-24 drives under the influence of alcohol each year.

Underage and binge drinking can also lead to many health problems. According to MADD, 400,000 students have unprotected sex and 100,000 were too drunk to even remember having se. More than 150,000 admit to health problems and thoughts of suicide. Along with the possibility of unplanned pregnancy comes the heightened possibility of contracting an STD.

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