Sending a child off to college has been a rite of passage to parents for decades, often accompanied by hours of subsequent crying and worrying. The experience can be just as traumatic for students as well, where they are now given a world of possibilities and opportunities. However, as a student starts college, whether they wish it so or not, they will now be exposed to numerous opportunities to drink. One of the many ways a student can be exposed to alcohol is through Greek life, where the issue of fraternities and alcohol is on the national news because of the recent deaths of students at Florida State University, Louisiana State University and Penn State University. These recent deaths along with others, have caused parents to now have to wonder when they drop their child off to college, if they will even make it home by the end of the year. Likely, the student will survive to make it back to their house, but runs the risk of bringing their acute alcoholism back to their unsuspecting parents. Who is to blame for the allowance of underage students to be exposed to alcohol on a weekly basis? In order to cause a dramatic reduction of underage students’ binge drinking, it is the college’s responsibility to go beyond the education of alcohol, and to strictly enforce alcohol policies by increasing penalties for alcohol misconducts, creating more awareness and providing alternative activities. In doing so, it will prevent the detrimental impact of alcohol on education, poor behaviors and further a student to not develop alcoholism post-college graduation. 

Originating thousands of years, the ancient Greeks used alcohol to celebrate special occasions, and this tradition is still alive today. But due to multiple factors, including high costs, and unsanitary conditions, the Greeks could not abuse alcohol to an extent. Additionally, with a short life expectancy, the lasting effects of alcohol abuse could not be researched well enough to draw conclusions. However, today alcohol is produced in massive quantities which makes it rather affordable, and there is now thorough research. From the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), they have drawn research that has concluded, “Of the 78,529 liver disease deaths, 47.0% involved alcohol” (Alcohol Facts and Statistics). This statistic is one of many that contribute to problems associated with alcohol. Also, the risk of immediate injury is escalated greatly due to the weakening of the brain’s decision-making. Furthermore, the demographic which is at the highest risk of hurting oneself/others is young adults, due to their inexperience and susceptibility to drink more often. Alcohol is especially a problem at universities across the country, which is why underage drinking at universities needs to be resolved in a safe and realistic manner.

Deeply rooted in American culture, alcohol has had strong ties to numerous sectors of colleges such as sports and Greek life. Most major universities have multiple sports teams for both genders, that are being played continuously throughout the year. According to the NCAA, the average Division One program has, “19 teams per school” (Sukkup). From all of these sporting events, there are numerous occasions where alcohol can be present, influencing a student’s decision to engage in consuming alcohol because of the overwhelming peer pressure. Peer pressure has been an issue of concern for colleges, evidence to support this from a peer reviewed study conducted to see the consequences of college students drinking over their non-college counterparts said, “Almost 60% of college students aged 18-22 drank alcohol in the past month and 2/3 binge drank” (White, Aaron and Hingson 201). Since college students have numerous organized events, they simply have more reasons to drink. These statistics suggest an obvious issue of ethics for colleges, should they promote dry campus policies or the other extreme of allowing drinking, but only in moderation.

Major university’s primary strategy for decreasing alcohol consumption should be to enforce alcohol misconducts more frequently. By setting a stern standard for alcohol violations, it will discourage students from taking such a great risk that could jeopardize their academic standing. Colleges could implement certain actions if an alcohol violation occurred that would make it harder for the student to engage in drinking activities, such as scheduling their classes for less ideal times. Another option is giving them the option to do community service in order to expunge their alcohol misconduct on their record. As an academic institution, implementing less than ideal practices for students would make it more likely for students to engage in safer drinking habits. Introducing these policies need to be done for Freshman year because in reports from the Alcohol Rehab Guide, “The high-risk period of binge drinking for college students is during the first six weeks of their freshman year” (lbicsek). Generally speaking, this fact is due to the beginning of rushing fraternities and football season. Creating a strong enforcement of alcohol policies from the beginning of a student’s college career will influence them to make better decisions for the rest of their college experience. 

A major step for university’s is to create positive awareness for the issue of underage drinking. However, underage drinking is seen as comical to student’s due to the numerous amount of excuses made to justify the decision to drink such as it not being illegal in other countries, or that they have been underage drinking for years with no consequences. First, colleges need to do more to demonstrate the laws they have will be enforced, which involves sharing the incidents with the police when underage students are caught with alcohol. Having a large police presence inside the residence halls would discourage drinking. As a student living on campus, police have the rights to enter a residency only when the smell of alcohol has been established. Once inside a residency, any alcohol products or paraphernalia found will lead to consequences that will negatively impact a student’s record. Second, addressing students who have been drinking for years without consequence has been an issue as reported by, the Stanford Daily a college newspaper stating, “High school seniors current binge drinking rate is around 25%” (Mariwala). This alarming rate indicates that as a high schooler enters college who has previously abused alcohol, they are at an even higher risk of binge drinking. In order to take action against students who have not previously been in trouble for drinking, universities may have to target these students and attempt to desist their previous ways. By having stronger protocols, the college may be able to make more of a difference in a student’s life because they will see that the punishments outweigh consumption. Implementing these punishments comes down to having more awareness.

Awareness for binge drinking students comes more often from social media, than from the university. Primarily, a student will see their fellow students drinking recklessly and not see the legal and health issues associated with drinking excessively. Before a student enters college, they are introduced to the college “culture” which involves heavy partying, but they do not witness the educational portion. Therefore, students entering their Freshman year can be entranced by the possibility of heavy partying, which can cause them to be extremely overwhelmed and stressed with their school work once it piles up. However, a study conducted by the Boston Medical Center led by Jonathan Howland indicates that intoxication did not affect a student’s test scores the following day. But, the students neurocognitive function did decrease and become “clustered”, leading the authors to conclude that even though students could still perform on a test initially, their ability to do well in other academic factors such as class attendance, essay-writing and studying (Howland 655). Based on the results of the study, it gives colleges the opportunity to show that alcohol will eventually pose an issue. Making students aware of the immediate and long-term effects of binge-drinking is what universities need to focus on more. Along with a stronger protocol, telling students how alcohol can lead to an extremely expensive fine, poor academic behaviors and monotonous alcohol classes may sway a student to not binge drink. 

An effective measure universities can pursue to not promote binge drinking is to schedule numerous activities around campus. One of the major problems of college students, as explained in an informational video is that students have too much free time. The video shows that college students are only in class for 15 hours a week compared to high school students who are at school for over 30 hours per week. Consequently, students who are poor at managing their time well, tend to binge drink repeatedly leading to unsatisfactory academic performances, and developing a drinking habit (CirclesofSA). Providing students with a busy schedule will physically exhaust them, which will give them less motivation to drink. Contrarily, universities who have events too much may not see great participation, which could discourage them from continuing to host activities. If balanced properly, then a university will host enough events for students to not be overwhelmed; rather they will be excited for upcoming events. In doing so, it would promote a positive social media filled with students having fun without alcohol present. Since fellow students are the major source of social media debauchery, a great example of why binge drinking leads to poor choices is from college students. 

College students are notorious for partying, tailgating and engaging in unsafe behaviors. All of these stereotypes have one common factor which is consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol. Some may argue that banning alcohol completely from these types of events, would just lead to the misuse of other substances or the ignoring of the rules. Considering that the banning of anything, normally results negatively, so instead of banning alcohol enforce moderation. In Thomas Vander Ven’s novel “Getting Wasted: Why College Students Drink Too Much and Party So Hard”, he outlines his thoughts on college and extreme partying through the testimonies of numerous students and research studies. One of the students he interviewed gave insightful information about why colleges need to take action on excessive drinking by reciting why students drink as, “Well, I drink every weekend, I am a college student” (Ven 23). Statements such as this contribute to the negative stereotypes that simply attending college validates drinking with a high frequency. Ideas such as this contribute to everyone, from parents to professors to high schoolers, that paying thousands of dollars a year for education equates with consuming alcohol. Another student who participated in the book stated how even though his friends and him all had essays and test the following day, he still stated, “We got kind of bored so we began drinking” (Ven 33). With no justification towards the illicit behaviors, it seems as if there is no solution to regulate moderation, so what is the point in attempting to stop underage drinking. Universities need to take immediate measures or run the risk of joining the others who have experienced the fatality of one of their students. 

Abundant information has been drawn to show that alcohol abuse in the future has stemmed from college. Demonstrated by a report from the Addiction center, “More than 150,000 (students) develop an alcohol related health problem” (Binge Drinking). Understanding that drinking excessively, and often can detrimentally impact the future is a major step to students cutting down on their drinking. Numerous health issues can result from alcohol abuse such as increased aggression, mood swings and inability to function without. There are numerous programs that assist people with alcoholism such as Alcoholics Anonymous, but by the time individual joins one of these programs the health issues have already been established and withdrawal persists. 

 Before a student is affected majorly in the future, the usual process that ensues involves impacting their education. As students enter college, they are often warned that college is more difficult than high school because of the intense workload, super difficult classes and ignorant professors. But, most college students are aware that these claims are myths. The major difference between college and high school is the way the assignments are given, the assignments themselves are usually similar. For example, in high school a research paper could be assigned to be due in a month, but with the increased time available in high school for teachers to use, the month would normally incorporate entire classes dedicated to working on that research paper. Whereas in college, a student would simply be given the assignment and be expected to follow through and spend the appropriate amount of time to have a solid essay. This is where alcohol can play a significant role, because when someone decides to abuse alcohol it takes up valuable time that someone could be spending on their project. If students binge on a Friday night, then the student will not only be unavailable to complete schoolwork on that night, but the following day lingering hangover symptoms could impact a student’s abilities to work efficiently. Another issue associated with alcohol aside from a student’s education, is the poor behaviors that result from drunken mishaps.

Initially, a person who has reached their alcohol tolerance begins to feel a sense of euphoria, but for someone who is abusing alcohol what happens after the euphoria can be destructive mentally and physically. First, someone who has over consumed alcohol which is described from the Addiction Resource, a site dedicated to helping addicts find resources to aid them in their disease says, “For the average male 2-4 drinks in an hour, and females 1-3” (Alcohol Abuse). At this rate of consumption, an individual would not legally be allowed to drive and would reach a mental state of feeling extremely good. Mentally, their behaviors shift more towards primitive instincts, and can result in numerous physical issues. Second, physically a person can harm themselves in a drunken state, or worse hurt someone else. Estimated by the NIAAA, almost 30% of fatalities while driving can be contributed to alcohol, a chilling fact (Alcohol Facts and Statistics). In addition, alcohol on college campuses is one of the major reasons behind sexual assault and other violent assaults. Alcohol causes students to behave in a way they would not normally, due to a new unexpected confidence. Behaviors such as this, can put a student at a greater risk of performing sexual acts without consent, which may put a fellow student in danger without them even realizing. Research shows that almost two out of every three sexual assault cases at college have alcohol involved in them (Alcohol Abuse). Poor behaviors from alcohol are inexcusable, and are a part of the assumed responsibilities that one agrees to when they consume alcohol. This is another reason why colleges, in order to ensure the safety of their student body, need to regulate the consumption of alcohol by underage students. Along with keeping their student body safe now, underage drinking needs to be limited in order to propel a student into their main reason for attending college; to become employed.

Once a student has graduated college, and is entering the workforce, they are in an extremely vulnerable position, similar to when they enter college. Something that is not included in the cost of tuition, is the unexpected addiction to alcohol, known as alcoholism. Post-college alcoholism is something that universities need to address, due to it being developed while a student is at their institution. Alcoholism is the disease which makes an individual unable to cope without alcohol, it alters their mood, behaviors and mindset. The disease affects millions of Americans, and is more common in those who graduated college, than those who did not. But it draws back to the question of who is responsible for developing alcoholism, after all a college is an educational institution, and their intent is to educate. Whoever the blame may be assigned to, there is no doubt that the significance of the issue is valid.

All across the country, college students everywhere are exposed to endless alcohol induced activities. With the widespread use of social media, students see videos and other social media of other colleges and their parties. The use of social media has created an underlying competition between universities, which is why the issue of underage is relevant to today, because the issue will not be disappearing, and frankly the only way the issue will stop abruptly will be by tragedy. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the university to create a new culture; one that is safe and will transform their young students into the next step of their lives.

Promoting a healthy and happy life at college should be one of the college’s goals to accompany their student’s education. Despite what some may argue that changing the centuries old college traditions is impossible, colleges have undergone major changes all along the way like the allowance of women, followed by African-Americans in their college. Major changes have occurred and will continue to occur, and a step in the right direction to making colleges better is to stop allowing uncontrolled, underage drinking to occur. An imminent change must be made, and can be accomplished through the institution of small, subtle changes that could transform a centuries old pastime. Implementing more penalties that will force students to stop drinking, creating more awareness of the issues that could result from underage binge drinking, and providing plenty of other options can result in a college with a happier, healthier and will make a smarter student body. Otherwise, a college will continue to only change their underage drinking policies once a student has been killed. Surpassing the first few hurdles that come with major change, colleges taking responsibility for their actions is the first in creating a new college culture not deeply associated with the consumption of alcohol. Once completed underage drinking at college can undergo changes that will make the current culture a thing of the past.
