| Term Paper Title | Alcohol |
| # of Words | 3278 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 13.11 |
Alcohol
When parents send their children away to college, they expect them to receive a quality education
that will prepare them for the real world. However, most parents do not realize that their
hard-earned money is being used to purchase hard liquor. Recent studies show that 82.5% of all
college students drink (http://www.edc.org/hec/pubs/binge.htm). Binge drinking, consuming
more than five alcoholic beverages in an row for men and four for women, is an all too common
occurrence on college campuses. With fraternity parties and surprisingly undescriminatory
admittance to campus bars, underage drinkers have virtually no problem gaining access to an
unlimited supply of alcohol. While the college years are a time for exploration and
experimentation, consuming mass quantities of alcohol on a regular basis can have extremely
detrimental long term effects to a person’s body. Binge drinking is an often overlooked problem
on college campuses.
Although buying and drinking alcohol is illegal for most college students, officials rate
binge drinking as the number one health problem for students today (Monroe 27). A study by the
Harvard School of Public Health found as many as 70 percent of students at some college
campuses binge drink. One-third of all schools surveyed reported bingeing by more than half the
students (Kowalski 8). Many students feel they “know their limits, ” and can act responsibly
while under the influence of alcohol. However, binge drinking affects speech, vision, balance, and
judgment (Monroe 26). Additionally, alcohol adversely affects the body by disrupting certain
brain functions that can cause drinkers to become overtly rowdy and hyper, or lose their sense of
judgment (Kowalski 6+). When tempers flare, and the alcohol “starts talking,” people do things
they often regret and sometimes have no recollection of whatsoever. Alcohol also restrains other
behaviors, and it is not unlikely that if two people were intoxicated enough, they could have
unprotected sex and possibly contract STD’s.
Where do we define what one drink is, and when is it determined if someone is drunk?
One drink is the equivalent of 12oz. of beer, one ounce of 86 proof liquor, or a four oz. glass of
wine. The effects of alcohol can be seen immediately. Even after only one drink, a typical 160 lb.
male may feel relaxed and carefree, while his blood alcohol percentage can be .02. The blood
alcohol percentage (BAP) is determined by how many ounces of alcohol are in 100 milliliters of
blood. Two and a half drinks in an hour raises a 160-pound male's blood alcohol level up to 0.05.
(The level is even higher for women, because they absorb more alcohol per drink into the
bloodstream than men due to different enzyme levels in the stomach.) The drinker feels "high,"
and judgment is clearly affected. Once the BAP reaches .10, .02 above Illinois’ legal driving limit,
the drinker loses most coordination and judgment (Kowalski 6+). This is where most people get
the feeling of invincibility and if put in situations with free alcohol they may start “pounding.”
When the body starts getting exorbitant amounts of alcohol in a short amount of time, it
sometimes cannot handle the rush, and shuts down completely. When the BAP reaches a
staggering .40, comas occur. Slow reaction times and poor judgment amount to most of the
problems incurred due to excessive drinking.
How this can occur, many wonder, is a topic of great debate. Some say schools are not
doing enough to teach students that binge drinking is wrong and potentially dangerous. Others
admit it is a fact of life that most people go through during their college years. The problem still
remains, and there is no possible way to justify harming one’s body to have a good time. Alcohol
is the number-one drug used on college campuses today. College students spend a whopping $5.5
billion each year on alcohol, or about $446 per student. On average, each student drinks 34
gallons of alcoholic beverages each year (Monroe 28). Anything that has s...Read entire document
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