Resources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-cooke/challenging-a-culture-of-_b_839376.html

 

http://college.usatoday.com/2014/07/21/colleges-can-be-doing-more-to-combat-drinking-culture-study-says/

A Culture of Alcoholism

The culture of alcoholism is a serious and complex one that affects many. It affects the person doing the drinking, and it also greatly impacts the family, friends, and people who are often around the person doing the drinking. Though I do not partake in drinking myself, nor have I ever had more than a single sip of alcohol, alcohol has affected myself and my family greatly. Unfortunately, my family comes from a long line of alcoholics. And throughout my dorming experience in college, I was exposed to heavy drinking. I have seen firsthand the effects of binge drinking. Though I am not directly a part of the act of drinking, I am very much a part of the drinking culture.

 

1. One of the most serious issues in the drinking culture is the issue of binge drinking on college campuses. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks for males and four or more drinks for females in a matter of a few hours at least once in a two week period. As a culture, we seem to enable, perhaps even glorify, binge drinking in college. Often times, evening gatherings or outings are centered on drinking heavily as the primary activity. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “about four in five college students drink” and about half of college student drinkers engage in heavy episodic consumption, or binge drinking. The culture of alcohol abuse deserves much more study and attention. Something needs to be done about the serious issue of binge drinking on college campuses.

2. Alcohol ranks third in the cause of preventable deaths in America, after cigarettes and poor diet. 80,000 Americans are killed each year as a result of alcohol. Half of those 80,000 deaths are due to binge drinking. Over 25% of American teenagers and young adults admit to binge drinking. That’s one fourth of the U.S. young adult population! On top of that, over 33 million American adults admit to binge drinking in the past year (2010). The issue of alcoholism and binge drinking is a serious matter that affects many. It affects the individual drinker, as well as the community around them, including family members and friends.

3. Colleges and universities are currently not doing enough to discourage the pervasive problem of heavy drinking among students. Study results have shown that it is rare for campus security or law enforcement officials to issue citations for students involved in alcohol-related violations or incidents. It was also not typical for these students to be referred to a campus health center to be evaluated for a possible alcohol problem. Rather, students were usually referred for discipline or sanctions to other university officials. The issue of binge drinking on college campus should be considered more heavily.

Though college campuses themselves are not doing enough to stop binge drinking, there are programs and resources out there that do encourage and support binge drinkers who want to make a change. Websites like Hello Sunday Morning, a free online program, or Alcoholics Anonymous, are centered around any individual who wishes to give up alcohol, or is just simply looking for a break from drinking. Though the resources are there, the community is not well served with access to them. There are dozens of resources, however the community that these websites target is not being reached. The word of these resources needs to spread in order to make a difference.

4. “The future depends on what you do today.” (Mahatma Gandhi) The future depends on making a difference today, not tomorrow, but today. Make a difference. Be the difference. Go above and beyond by helping your community. Serve the people around you. Relating this back to the culture of alcoholism, specifically binge drinking, “The future depends on what you do today” I would encourage all binge drinkers, drinkers alike, to take this quote to heart. Why wait tomorrow to stop drinking? Why not make a difference today?