No

by Reynold Conger

Created on: August 17, 2009

Binge drinking is immature behavior. The reasons behind binge drinking are social and related to being accepted by the peer group. A binge drinker is either trying to gain acceptance with his or her buddies or trying to show the world that he or she is the best drinker of those present. Those who engage in binge drinking are the victims of peer pressure.

Binge drinking may provide a measure of social acceptance, but also exposes the drinker to a number of risks. First, there is the legal side. university rules and public laws censure public intoxication. A binge drinker is liable to face disciplinary action or may spend the night in jail. More serious are the consequences to relationships. A drunk seldom shows his or her best side. Friendships may be damaged by actions done while intoxicated. Romantic relationships are particularly vulnerable because subconsciously men and women are always evaluating each other as potential mates. If your girl has seen the ugly side of you while you are drunk, what will she remember about you when you "pop the question"? The most serious risk is the health risk. Alcohol is a poison. When we drink, we usually stay well below the toxic limit, but we become intoxicated as we approach the toxic limit. Drunken behavior is partly due to the body starting to shut itself down as a defense against the poison in the bloodstream. Even relatively low blood alcohol levels can trigger health problems in the liver, the stomach and the brain. A person intoxicated enough to vomit, risks choking on their own vomit. If large enough amounts of alcohol are imbibed, the person can die. This is why binge drinking is dangerous behavior.

It is human nature to justify our bad behavior. It is difficult to justify binge drinking. Aside from a small amount of social acceptance, there are no benefits to binge drinking. Nevertheless, binge drinkers and university officials look for excuses they hope will justify the existence of binge drinking parties. A convenient excuse is to cite the 21 drinking age, and to say students are tempted to drink because they are forbidden to drink.

The minimum drinking of 21 (of 18 in some localities) has been set in recognition of the need for a certain amount of self control while drinking. Public intoxication is not condoned, especially when it leads to fights, domestic disturbances, or drunk driving. Thus we want those who drink to be able to control the amount they drink and the rate at which they drink. The law presumes that those under the minimum age may not have the maturity to be able to control their drinking responsibly.

Binge drinking violates the spirit of liquor laws in two ways. First, those drinkers who are under-aged are in direct violation of the statutes. Second, the binge drinker is not in control of his alcohol intake and has no intention of staying sober. The binge drinker is making no attempt at preventing any of the inappropriate or illegal activities that result from intoxication. The binge drinker is an example of the type of person who liquor laws are intended bar from access to alcohol.

The fact that something is prohibited does tempt immature people. Temptation does not justify action. Many things in this life are prohibited. A measure of maturity is how well a person stands against temptation. Civilization exists, in part, because we have set laws and moral precepts that prohibit activities deemed destructive to society. Yes, immature people break the law and do immoral things, but we should be working with these adolescents to develop mature behavior. When we excuse binge drinking because the liquor laws are tempting the students too much, we are not helping the students to mature. We become enablers.

Years ago, as a college student, I lived on campus with a population of undergraduates ranging 17 to 22 years of age. As sophisticated as we thought we were, we all suffered from some amount of immaturity. My fellow students engaged in many inappropriate activities, and I joined them in a few. At the time, the age of majority was 21. The fact that most of us were still minors did not excuse our activities. The fact that most of these pranks were either illegal or against university rules did not mean that our actions were excused because we were being tempted. To the extent we got caught, we were disciplined. To the extent that the laws of nature gave us injuries because of our behavior, we learned valuable lessons.

The college students of today, just like the college students of my day, must recognize that they still strive toward maturity. Students must learn to discern between immature behavior and mature adult behavior. Binge drinking is certainly not mature behavior. Especially now that 18 year old college students are legally adults, they must strive to be mature. It is not a valid excuse to say, "I was tempted." Our liquor laws can not be given as the reason students binge drink.

College students today are adults. It is time they grow up and act like adults.

Learn more about this author, Reynold Conger.
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