Binge Drinking...

[LouisaMay]

"You're not going to change the legal drinking age..."

And please don't write an essay about it for Comp. We composition teachers have read TOO MANY of those!

[Rudey]

Originally posted by PhoenixAzul
and googling it once doesn't make you an expert either.

Actually I didn't say I was an expert. I had already read about it in several articles - everything from England looking into changing pub hours to soccer hooligans (great book that detailed how to suck someone's eyeballs out and how much weight to apply to an ear to rip it off...won lots of awards) to people that join these vacation groups (stag fests involving hookers and weapons) to go to Eastern Europe/Hungary while completely drunk. It's in the news a lot.

So you said something that was wrong, I provided you with sources, and that's that right? I mean I don't understand where your hostility is coming from. If you're angry because you were wrong take it out on the English who have a problem with binge drinking, not me. I'm sweet

-Rudey
--I bet you dress like a chav

[PhoenixAzul]

Originally posted by Rudey

--I bet you dress like a chav

Not today, my tracksuit is away to the cleaners.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by PhoenixAzul
Not today, my tracksuit is away to the cleaners.

Hah. I actually think chavs make the british much more fun.

-Rudey

[SigmaPezY60]

really? are you arguing over something on the internet??

who cares who is right or wrong...her post provoked another to look for more information didn't it??

okay end of conversation and move on with your lives...they're has to be something more worth while to talk about than who was right or wrong...

like the topic that was introduced at the first post.

my opinion is that America is a very different society than other countries. We are an over-indulging country. Everything we do is in excess. So would binge-drinking be less of a problem if it were legal at the age of 18? probably not if you follow that theorey. But I have many theories about this issue. That's just one of them.

Binge drinking would be less of a problem if college students were more effectivly educated on the risks.

[Tom Earp]

I am sure if all of us were at the Founding of Our Greek Organizations, there was a form of imbibing in some form or another.

But, I wish I had the answer for Binge Drinking. It is not just Kids being Kids.

Granted, Europeans have a drinking problem and not just socially. That is why the PUBs used to close in the after noons.

They drank as fast as they could before the Pubs closed. That is not social.

That is there and this is here.

Todays problems stem from I look ouot for # 1 and the hell with everyone else.

If someone is getting overly drunk, why is there not someone to say Hey Bro/Sis, slow it down and take care of them!

One of the proudest moments when I went back to visit the Chapter, there was a designated driver who would go pick someone up so they wouldnt drive.



Be Your Brothers/Sisters keeper first and foremost!

[DeltAlum]

Back in college, the Ohio drinking for 3.2 beer was 18.

We played drinking games all the time. Many of us did it several times a week. I think that's binge drinking, even with a different name.

I really doubt that lowering the drinking age would lower binge drinking -- no matter how you define it.

Since we didn't need fake ID's to buy beer, we wanted them to buy hard liquor.

[PSKAdvisor]

Originally posted by Tom Earp

One of the proudest moments when I went back to visit the Chapter, there was a designated driver who would go pick someone up so they wouldnt drive.

I like this. Did they just rotate who stayed sober on a given night or weekend?

[SoCalGirl]

Originally posted by PSKAdvisor
I like this. Did they just rotate who stayed sober on a given night or weekend?

Be very careful about having set designated driver schedules. It can open liability up to the chapter. God forbid the DD has a car accident.

ex) True story. DD picks up drunken sis. DD has a major life threatening accident. DD was sober but had drunk the night before and is underage. DD has a BAC of .01, loses license eventhough under the states legal limit and has DUI on record. To top it all off the drunken sis has a lame insurance policy that doesn't cover guest driver for the full policy limits. I work in auto claims. It is very scary stuff sometimes.

[shinerbock]

Do ya'll use pledges as DD's? We usually did.

On another note, we need to get realistic about binge drinking. Like most other things in the alcohol realm, the numbers presented are just absurd. I'm not sure what the number is, but when I remember seeing it, something like more than 5 drinks is considered binge drinking. Just about everyone in college does that. The fact that plenty of people here would easily drink a case and a half a weekend, and nobody thought twice about it, makes me think those numbers should be raised. Personally, the majority of guys I know can drink 5-6 beers without any real impairment. I realize reaction time may be slowed, but it really is not even noticable. I'm not condoning the use of alcohol in these amounts, I'm sure it is unhealthy...but for the huge majority of people 8 beers is not putting you at much risk in and of itself.

[DeltaPyrite]

Originally posted by Tom Earp

Granted, Europeans have a drinking problem and not just socially. That is why the PUBs used to close in the after noons.

That's kind of a broad and unsupported generalization you're making...

shinerbock appropriate name for the thread. And my favorite beer.


All students at my school do a program in New Student Orientation called about "the optimal buzz" they teach you that if you're going to drink, you should go for the optimal buzz and then stop. And teach you how to calculate that by your body weight. Because you're going to have the most fun if you're not blacking out, vomiting, passing out, and making your friends take care of you and call EMS. I love the program, it's great for a few reasons:

1) it's realistic, in that it understands that people are going to drink no matter what, and doesn't just say DRINKING BAD!

2)It teaches responsible social drinking, and...

3)It does it in a way that appeals to students. It makes sense and sounds most fun to drink to the peak of your 'high' and not past that.

[Tom Earp]

Originally posted by DeltaPyrite
That's kind of a broad and unsupported generalization you're making...

shinerbock appropriate name for the thread. And my favorite beer.


All students at my school do a program in New Student Orientation called about "the optimal buzz" they teach you that if you're going to drink, you should go for the optimal buzz and then stop. And teach you how to calculate that by your body weight. Because you're going to have the most fun if you're not blacking out, vomiting, passing out, and making your friends take care of you and call EMS. I love the program, it's great for a few reasons:

1) it's realistic, in that it understands that people are going to drink no matter what, and doesn't just say DRINKING BAD!

2)It teaches responsible social drinking, and...

3)It does it in a way that appeals to students. It makes sense and sounds most fun to drink to the peak of your 'high' and not past that.

True, some what of a generalization. I should have said England was the Country that closed the Pubs from 2:00 to 4:00. But that has been changed as it seems that they binged beer before the Pubs closed for 2 Hours.

Maybe in the old days it was not called binge drinking but just partying?

I guess the definition of Bingeing is different to Me than to some. Bingeing is just swilling as Much Booze as one can in a short period of time while social drinking is sitting, dancing, playing pool etc. Just My take of course.

When the yoke of parental control is taken off, it can lead to going a little crazy for some. So, then who needs to be in control? Maybe The Greek Brotehrs/Sisters would/should take up the task.

As far as a designated Driver, it was usually an Active for more responsibility. What is sad, that when a group does try to do the right thing, there is always a situation as mentioned above that dashes the plan on the rocks.

[ilikehazing]

I like this. Did they just rotate who stayed sober on a given night or weekend?

We always had a pledge DD. Usually 2 or 3, and only on weekend nights, thurs - sat. Worked out real well.

[SOPi_Jawbreaker]

I don't think we can stop binge drinking with any simple solution such as lowering the drinking age. As SigmaPezY60 mentioned earlier, we are a very over-indulgent society. There are many incoming freshmen that think college is going to be wild parties, lots of sex, and excesses in general. They think it's going to be Animal House, Old School, Van Wilder, etc. all rolled into one. And if that's what they're looking for, they can find it. When my parents' friends ask me about Penn State (because they're worried about their high school senior who is going there next year), I tell them that Penn State is what you make of it (as is every other college). If they want to party every night and not study and not go to class and fail classes, that's their choice. If they want to work hard and excel in their classes, that's also their choice. They are going to be adults. No one is going to hold their hand and make sure they go to class and do their homework. And so, I think the only way to prevent binge drinking (as well as drug use and unsafe sex) is to educate young people about the consequences and to teach them to make wise, healthy decisions. I think a big part of that is parents explicitly sharing their values with their children, letting their children know what is expected of them (such as no drug use, no underage drinking, drinking in moderation, no pre-marital sex, no unprotected sex, etc.)

Using Penn State as an example, there are plenty of people over 21 that binge drink. It's not a matter of a certain number being the magic age. It's about teaching young people to be mature, independent thinkers. And it's about teaching young people to deal with their problems in healthy ways (exercise, talking to friends, talking to parents, going for a walk to calm down, etc.) rather than using alcohol or drugs to deal with stress and hurt feelings. One of my best friends from freshmen year had been through rehab, had been bulimic, and had been a cutter. And she said it had been because she felt like she had no one to talk to and she felt like her mom had been too busy for her. And through rehab, she realized that drugs weren't the solution. She was just numbing herself. Her problems were still always there. She still felt neglected and alone, and she had to confront her mom and tell her all these things she was feeling. And afterwards, she was more able to talk to her mom about whatever was bothering her. They talked on the phone all the time, and whenever she was having a conflict about anything, she would call her mother up. So, I think communication is the biggest key and that parents can the biggest positive influence if the lines of communication are open.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by Tom Earp
True, some what of a generalization. I should have said England was the Country that closed the Pubs from 2:00 to 4:00. But that has been changed as it seems that they binged beer before the Pubs closed for 2 Hours.

Maybe in the old days it was not called binge drinking but just partying?

I guess the definition of Bingeing is different to Me than to some. Bingeing is just swilling as Much Booze as one can in a short period of time while social drinking is sitting, dancing, playing pool etc. Just My take of course.

When the yoke of parental control is taken off, it can lead to going a little crazy for some. So, then who needs to be in control? Maybe The Greek Brotehrs/Sisters would/should take up the task.

As far as a designated Driver, it was usually an Active for more responsibility. What is sad, that when a group does try to do the right thing, there is always a situation as mentioned above that dashes the plan on the rocks.

Tom that's true. Short of blacking out, I wouldn't label any form of drinking as binge drinking.

-Rudey