College Binge Drinking: Not All Just Fun and Games Essay -- Essays Pap

College Binge Drinking: Not All Just Fun and Games For those who go out and drink in college, it is all about the good times, right? What everyone does not think about is the potential danger that drinking can cause, especially to the astonishing amount of college students who drink heavily on a regular basis. Alcohol abuse is the leading cause of death among teens and young adults, and according to many professionals, the high rate of binge-drinking and its effects on college students and the school or university is the top social issue on campuses. Despite all the attention given to this issue, especially in the past few years, no noticeable improvement has been seen. Drinking has even been called a â€Å"college pastime;† however, there is often a high price to pay for those who claim that they just want to have a good time, especially when it comes to the drinking that goes on at college campuses. Many first-time college goers need to realize that certain people have a higher tendency to drink heavily, and it is prove n that there is high risk for both those who do participate in this dangerous activity and for their non-drinking peers. It is a proven fact that young adults are among the heaviest drinkers in the United States, and college students tend to drink more than their non-college attending peers. These statistics don’t make all that much sense considering most people would say that they go to college to get ahead; however, if you use college as an excuse to go out and get drunk all the time (which many seem to do), then you might be worse off than those who do not go to college at all. Laura G. Hensley, a writer for the Journal of College Counseling, reports that â€Å"Binge drinking [also known as heavy episodic dr... ...k Groups.† American Journal of Public Health 93.11 (Nov 2003): 1929-1934. Academic Search Premier EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton. 26 March 2004. . Weitzman, Elissa R. â€Å"Social Developmental Overview of Heavy Episodic or Binge Drinking Among U.S. College Students.† Psychiatric Times 21.2 (Feb 2004): 57-60. Academic Search Premier EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton. 26 March 2004. . Williams, David, Adrian Thomas, Walter C. Buboltz Jr., and Maibel McKinney. â€Å"Changing the Attitudes that Predict Underage Drinking in College Students: A Program Evaluation.† Journal of College Counseling 5.1 (Spring 2002): 39-49. Academic Search Premier EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton. 27 March 2004. .