Drinking is on every college campus mostly in underage students. Underage teens put their lives at risk just to look cool. Most teens don't know how much their body can hold until they get sick. Most people just drink to be like everyone else.
A website called College Drinking gives many statistics on the consequences of college drinking. It says 696,000 students between 18 and 24 are assaulted by a student who has been drinking. 97,000 students have been sexual assaulted or even date raped. Some other consequences are drunk driving, property damage, academic problems, and unsafe sex.
Seeing the statistics above could open any ones eyes, unless they are to stubborn to believe them. Drinking brings out the worse in people, they act stupid, and they do things they will regret in the future. I know if i drank heavily and I read the statistics I would slow down on the drinking. I would be afraid to know what could happen when i was intoxicated.
Coming from an all Italian family there is wine around at every holiday or get together. Both my grandfather and uncle make their own white and red wine. When we get together my step sister, my cousin, and I get a half of glass of wine, and then the children under 16 get only 1/4 of a glass. That is all the drinking we do for the whole night. To me this is how my mom, aunt, and uncle where raised allowing their children to drink around other family members and knowing that they will not be judged.
Drinking a glass of wine with my family is different then drinking till you black out. Alcohol is one of the top killers of teens. There is a reason why the drinking age is 21. I think college campuses should be more aware of what their underage students are doing.
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7 comments:
I think your family’s wine policy is a good idea. I knew quite a few students that had never been exposed to alcohol prior to leaving for college and, consequently, they had a skewed view of drinking. Many of these students drank to excess. Nice post.
My parents did the same sort of thing - whenever they were having wine with dinner or a beer after mowing the lawn or something I was allowed to taste if I wanted to. Usually I would pretend to be very grown-up and sophisticated, take a taste, and then go "EWWWWWWWWW!"
My parents also told me stories about their own experiences so that we could learn from them (i.e. don't mix wine/beer/alcohol, know your limits, carry one drink around with you all evening if you don't want to drink more than one, how to say no) rather than pretending they had never had any alcohol in their lives.
I think it's useful for people to have some limited, monitored exposure to alcohol as well as information on how to drink responsibly rather than just being told "don't do it." But some people don't want to take the effort to parent their own children!
Thank you both for giving your insight on my entry. I choose not to drink, because I've seen so many friends black out and regret many things. Drinking with my parents is the only time I feel comfortable drinking because I know i'm with people I trust. Srah my parents have also told me their stories, and they scare me.
It may also be something where your opinions change as you get older. Right now you're in college, where binge drinking is popular and that's your exposure to alcohol. Once you get out of college, you may be able to find an environment where you can enjoy a glass of wine with friends and there won't be pressure to drink beyond what you can control.
If you study abroad in college you'll also have exposure to different cultures' drinking norms (for example the age limit for drinking is much lower in France but that's because children are typically exposed to wine in a family environment from a younger age than in the US; I've been told that Russians drink a LOT but they also eat a lot while they're drinking, including lots of bread to soak up the alcohol, because they're not drinking to get drunk). I think the US has a lot to learn from other countries in terms of our relationship with alcohol.
One thing I try to do is to think before I order (or pick a beverage at a party): Why do I want this drink? If it's because I want to get tipsy/drunk or because everyone else is drinking, I have to think about why I want to do that. If it's because I like the taste, I'll have one (or two if I can spread it out over a long evening).
I think it's pretty supportive that you can drink with your parents. When I lived with my parents, they told me that I could always call them at any hour of the night to ask for a ride home if I wasn't fit to drive. Fortunately I only had to do it once, but it was also good to know that I had a backup so I didn't have to worry about getting home if the person who was supposed to give me a ride home wasn't fit to drive. It meant that I didn't have to sneak around and we could be honest with each other about alcohol.
Alright, now I am being the weird person who hangs around your comments and writes enormous long comments about alcohol all the time. I'm starting to creep myself out.
Shannon--
Another thoughtful post where you take an issue that is important tom your topic, find a reference, respond to that reference, and offer personal experience and insight. And look! Discussion is born. Thanks, srah, for your input--I'm not finding your presence at all creepy.
5/5
Shannon--
Work on identifying sentences missing commas in the final paragraph (look for introductory words and nonessential clauses), and you are using the wrong "to" here: "unless they are to stubborn to believe them."
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