by Ken Alexander

Created on: August 21, 2008

The 21 year old limit for drinking alcohol has no effect whatsoever on college binge drinking other than the fact that it being illegal gives a certain thrill to the drinker. Drinking in college begins as a social activity. It is also the result of being away from home for the first time and feeling the need to experience new things.

Fraternities and seniorities are composed of both senior and junior members; the senior members are the more experienced and have probably been drinking for some time. Organization secret rules almost always condone drinking. The younger student feels enormous peer pressure to conform to the group in all ways, including imbibing whenever the group does.

After a few sickness episodes and hangovers the young college student learns to drink and likes the feeling it gives him/her. So he drinks more; parties more. He finds it is a welcome relief from professors and class work which is now becoming more difficult. He loves the diversion being with his friends and doing what they do.

College becomes, to some extent, a big party with boozing, girls/boys and acting out especially in a dorm atmosphere. Now the student has discovered binge drinking, consuming large quantities of alcohol to the point of getting very drunk and acting out more and passing out. To the student this is all fun, with no thought as to any consequences. This pattern may continue throughout college.

A large percentage of binge drinking students go on to become successful in their careers and many never again drink to excess. Alcoholics Anonymous says only a portion of the general population are Alcoholics per se, that is they have a condition that predisposes them to become addicted to alcohol. These may continue from college to become addicted to ethyl alcohol. Most look back pleasantly on their college experience and all the fun they had being footloose and fancy-free.

For the moat part teenage and college drinkers are unaffected by the age limit. They will drink any time they want for the pleasure and camaraderie. The only inconvenience is that they are unable to purchase liquor themselves and have to devise methods of doing so. The college student largely does not have this problem as over 21 collegiates are able to buy in quantity. And what is the downside? Simply possessing alcohol or being found drunk in public are very minor misdemeanors (as long as you don't get behind the wheel). Most of the college drinking is not done in public anyway.

Sure, they are some serious

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