Just how bad is the alcohol on college campuses? I was in college more than 20 years ago and it was certainly pretty bad back then. As a counselor for both in-class and online alcohol classes I have many students in my MIP classes who attest to how much alcohol is consumed by many college students.
Here are some very disturbing facts. More than 40% of college students engage in binge drinking regularly. This means they do not drink to lighten the mood or release a few inhibitions – they are drinking to get totally wasted! As reported in www.onlineuniversities.com.
Before you start thinking that they are just young and stupid and this is not really dangerous, keep in mind that almost 2,000 college students die each year due to alcohol-related issues. Do you think they would drink to excess if they knew that almost 2,000 would contract the AIDS virus from drinking? I bet that would deter quite a few.
On top of all this, more than 50% of all alcohol consumed by college students occurs as part of binge drinking episodes. If we cannot stop kids from drinking on campus can we at least encourage them not to binge drink? If so, just how do we go about this? I welcome your input.