Universities across the U.S. have commonly been characterized by parties and binge drinking, especially at state schools like ASU.
Although ASU is a “dry campus” and the school’s administrative staff has succeeded in stripping it of its title as one of the top party schools in the country, binge drinking will always be present in the University’s culture.
Before delving into the health effects of consuming an excessive amount of alcohol, it is important to recognize that binge drinking is defined as drinking that brings a person’s alcohol blood concentration to a 0.08 g/dL, which translates to an average of four drinks for women and five drinks for men over the span of about two hours. There are many college students who do drink responsibly and do not fall into this category.
Young and immature, students often fail to recognize the consequences of their drinking habits in college. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, just under 60 percent of college students in the U.S. consumed alcohol in the last month. Of those who drank alcohol, 2 out of 3 participated in binge drinking. About 1,825 college students across the country die from unintentional alcohol-related injuries.
The liver is responsible for processing alcohol and for preventing alcohol from affecting other organs in the body, so heavy drinking could eventually lead to the liver shutting down. However, there are other long-term health problems such as anemia, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, dementia and depression that could arise as a result of this behavior.
The irony of this situation is that binge drinking is a result of college students’ new independence. Growing up, drinking was perceived as an “adult” activity simply due to legal age restrictions.
Coming to college, students jump at the chance to reaffirm their independence and fill the illusion that they are an adult by consuming alcohol. However, binge drinking is the opposite of mature; the lack of restraint and the danger associated with drinking in excess actually portrays an image of immaturity.
"I think binge drinking is a major problem on college campuses in general," said Dr. William Corbin, ASU psychology professor. "More important than the pattern of drinking are the many negative consequences that accompany binge drinking. Relative to non-binge drinkers, students who binge drink experience higher rates of a variety of problems, including poor academic performance, sexual violence, alcohol-related arrests and traffic accidents to name a few."