We have all seen it, or heard about it. There is no denying it. Alcohol consumption is slowly becoming a very integrated part of the college experience. Your time in college is often marked by a very real turning point, the moment you turn 21. However, there is more to the story than just the newfound “maturity” and “freedom” that comes with the ability to consume one of the nation’s most abundant legal toxins. 

An early 2001 study led by Judith R. Vicary and Christine M. Karshin examined the factors and gender differences in college drinking and college alcohol abuse. 

“The majority of today’s college students drink and nearly half of all college students report binge drinking,”  the study reports.

 This is in reference to the over three million college students at the time of the study. Binge drinking in this case is defined as more than five drinks in one sitting for men and more than four drinks in one sitting for women. 

Your first year on campus, Tarleton will require you to take a couple of online training courses in regards to drinking in college. In this course and according to the national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism, a standard drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or one-point-five ounces of a distilled spirit. Therefore, five drinks could be five shots, five beers, or five glasses of wine. What is important to remember is that five beers at a typical five percent alcohol content, will have a vastly different effect on the body than five shots at a typical 40 percent alcohol content. Binge drinking is a lot easier to commit than you would think. 

The one thing that alcohol can affect greatly is your relationships. Many of us know that one person who drinks so much that they are too hungover to go to class, too busy with partying to spend time with family, and too overwhelmed with consumption that they struggle to keep sincere friendships. Alcohol consumption is something we see everywhere, all the time. It is in the songs we love, the shows we watch, and is indirectly promoted by of-age drinkers all over social media. 

With the newfound freedoms that come with college, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of abuse with alcohol, as most “off-campus” night activities take place in bars across Stephenville. Whether you are at a concert at the Twist, or getting low at Bar C; look out for yourself and your friends, binge drinking can often lead to the early stages of alcoholism.