Drinking is indisputably a large part of college culture. With
freshman exploring their first taste of freedom and Tigerland a 10-minute walk from campus, there is pressure from the start to go wild and party.
Unfortunately, with its crazy crowds, frequent fights and pressuring peers, Tigerland and Greek houses are hardly friendly environments for those just learning their limits. Alcohol poses countless problems for those underage. Both people’s lives as well as careers are put on the line every night. With this danger comes a need for awareness.
When intoxicated, reason and awareness fly out of the window. For the most part, these lapses in judgement can be avoided by going in small, supervised groups or simply knowing your limit. However, accidents still happen, especially when one is just beginning to test their freedom.
I understand it is impossible to rid college of alcohol, and students should have their fun after spending most of the week under the soul-crushing weight of scholarship. However, drinking needs to be taken seriously. It may seem harmless due to its prevalence, but it still has dangerous effects. In addition to all of the immediate debilitating effects of alcohol, there are the potential long-term effects of alcoholism as well as academic failure. Roughly 20 percent of college students already possess alcohol use disorders, and 25 percent of underage drinkers suffer from either poor grades or failure, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. As if these effects were not dreadful enough, underage drinking leads to 5,000 deaths a year — 5,000 deaths that could have been avoided with simple precautions.
These 5,000 deaths include Maxwell Gruver, a freshman pledge member. While most are chalking his preventable death to hazing, the problem of underage drinking is ignored. According to preliminary results, Gruver’s blood samples showed high alcohol levels. Whether forced or voluntary, alcohol was affecting the decisions made by both himself as well as those around him that night. Alcohol only creates problems and make existing problems worse.
Simply drinking in a private residence amongst friends is safer than going to a party surrounded by strangers. In a private residence, there is no pressure to find a ride home or drive while intoxicated. The opposite holds true for bars and Greek parties. There is greater law enforcement and supervision in
Tigerland, but there is also a greater number of people to supervise. People slip through the cracks.
Drinking can be fun, and fun is an important aspect in college. However, when it becomes the most important aspect in your college experience, the problem spirals out of control. Tigerland and Greek parties pressure people into drinking in excess and forces those who do into dangerous positions. Due to the actions of students spurred on by alcohol, Maxwell Gruver is lost to us. Even worse, we will continue to lose more friends and peers unless we become more aware of the dangers that drinking presents.
Ethan Gilberti is a 19-year-old English sophomore from New Orleans, Louisiana.