College Drinking Causes More Problems Than You Think
Catherine Eckerd woke up on a Sunday morning with a pounding headache. She looked at her phone – it was already 2 p.m. Thoughts began to whirl in her head about what had happened the previous night, yet she could hardly recall any of the events.
This story is all too common among students attending 4-year universities.
According to a recent study about college students and alcohol use, alcohol abuse is the number one health concern on college campuses, and about 44 percent of students attending 4-year universities engage in binge drinking.
University of Colorado Boulder freshman Catherine Eckerd is one of the many students who enjoys going out, and participating in binge drinking.
“I like to be social. If I’m done with my homework than why not?” Eckerd states.
Most of her college memories so far have consisted of going out and drinking. Even when she would travel to places around Colorado, such as Aspen, not only did the weekend consist of drinking, but even the car ride up involved taking shots with other passengers. Eckerd does not see her drinking habits as anything out of the norm for a college student, and in fact she thinks a lot of her friends drink a lot more than she does.
Steve Bentley is the coordinator for the Alcohol and Other Drugs services at the Wardenburg Psychiatric Counseling Center at CU. According to Bentley, he believes that there has been a shift in how students view drinking.
“Recreational drinking for many years was a notion of people getting together to do something together, and alcohol was apart of that. Now, the reason for getting together is to drink,” Bentley states.
Bentley goes on to explain that students drink a lot in a short period of time because they believe that is what is normal. The media contributes to those ideas whether it be from magazines, reality TV, movies, etc.
“Way back in the dark ages, there was a film called ‘Animal House’, and it pictures college life, and particularly from a fraternity perspective, and it was just flat out drink yourself silly,” Bentley states.
Eckerd grew up viewing things such as “Animal House”, and Spring Break specials, and she began to think that is what drinking was supposed to be like. When she finally got to college she began to act out because she perceived recreational drinking to be that way.
Also, according to researchers, students over-estimate how much alcohol their friends are actually drinking, and in turn they are drinking more in order to keep up with their friends. This “social norms theory” concludes that most of the time, students misinterpret the amount of alcohol their friends are actually consuming, and end up drinking too much.
Since Eckerd is a freshman at CU, going out and drinking is an easy and fun way to meet more people. It is also a way to become closer with friends. However, she does not even realize that she participates in binge drinking because to her it is the norm.
“I would say, just everyone around you is kind of just drinking a shit ton, so it’s what you do,” states Eckerd.
Heavy amounts of drinking come with many consequences, including health effects. Bentley explained that many effects include vulnerability to illness such as colds, coughs, and flus. Also, drinking may cause students to become sick due to consuming too much.
“It’s very risky. You don’t have to have a problem with alcohol to throw up and aspirate your own vomit, or fall asleep on your face in your pillow and suffocate yourself or fall down a flight of stairs.” Bentley states.
Eckerd has experienced the effects alcohol has caused on her body, including a trip to the hospital due to a kidney infection. Not only did she have to stay at the hospital at hours, but she was forced to miss classes, tests, and assignments, causing her even more problems.
These health problems can ultimately lead to other problems, such as a plummet in GPA.
Lily Wilkinson is a CORE mentor at the CU Collegiate Recovery Center, which is a resource on campus for students who are either sober by choice or want to become sober.
“Obviously there are impacts on your grades and on your academic performance,” Wilkinson states.
Eckerd experienced this drop of her grades ending her first semester with a 1.3 GPA- the worst she has ever performed in school.
“I would go out instead of doing my homework if it was really fun because college can’t all be about school, but I got really, really, really, shitty grades,” Eckerd states.
However, grades are not the only thing that can affect students. Researches have stated that effects from binge drinking can include vandalism, relationship problems, property damage, sexual assault, negative psychological effects, and mental and emotional well-being.
“People tend to be pretty depressed cause their life is obviously not in a great place. You don’t necessarily need to get sober unless you’ve been causing a lot of turmoil in your own life, so that goes hand in hand with also, you know, being depressed, and being sort of down, like really low self-esteem all the time, a lot of shame,” Wilkinson states.
This semester, Eckerd plans to stay in more, and get better grades. So far, instead of going out four nights a week, she has cut it down to 3, only going out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
“I have some regrets about going out,” Eckerd states.
However, these regrets have led Eckerd to make healthier choices, and smarter decisions.
Eckerd went on to say that, “Overall, drinking has definitely enhanced my social experience at CU, but it has definitely taken a toll from my academic performance, causing me to rethink a few of my choices.”
