A phrase I hear all too often is, “screw it, I’m in college.” Basically, people use this phrase as an excuse to bring home “strange,” get wasted, and generally not keep it classy.
Every weekend, many students fill up Stage West to drink and let loose. By all means, go out and have fun. It’s the end of the week, enjoy it, but there is no reason to get out of control.
There is always that one person you see throwing up in the bathroom or sometimes literally at one of the tables blowing chunks – this is not the person you ever want to be.
Once people drink to excess and get to this point, their judgment is impaired tremendously. This will often lead them to make horrible decisions.
Even if intentions are good, a person could still wind up getting a ride home from a complete stranger. Next thing they know, they are locked in Jeffrey Dahmer’s basement. There is no way to tell what a person’s intentions are, especially a stranger’s.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape each year. Play it smart and limit yourself. Don’t add to this number of alcohol-related sexual assaults.
These people you meet while out drinking — you know, the ones that are “so special” you bring them home — some of them are not clean.
At the same time, if a person is willing to go home with you after one night of drinking and dry humping, also known as dancing, he or she probably does this with other people as well.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of the 20 million new sexually transmitted diseases diagnosed each year are among young people aged 15–24 years, with 1 in 4 college students currently having an STD.
The last big problem with “turning up,” is drinking and driving. Despite all the warning signs, many students still claim they are okay to drive after a night out, so everyone piles in their car and off they go – that experience really is not worth being the last one of your life.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states that every year, about 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related injuries.
So when you are listening to a person tell a story about how crazy last night was or your buddy talks about a girl he hooked up with, don’t let their excuse be “but I was drunk.” That excuse could cost someone’s life — or make it burn when they pee.