Binge Drinking In College

Binge drinking in college is a controversial issue that has impassioned many to write. Henry Wechsler, Froma Harrop, Kathryn Stewart, Corina Sole, and James C. Carter are several writers that have shared their opinions with the public, in hopes to influence society. Although these writers have expressed their concern on this matter, each has a distinct perspective upon the issue. At one end of the spectrum lies Wechsler’s article which was inspired by an unfortunate event – the death of an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) freshman who died of alcohol poisoning. He claims that colleges are not acknowledging the seriousness of the situation, which should, since college students are ever so “incapable” of controlling their obnoxious
According to Stewart and Sole, who wrote a letter to the Washington Post, “one out of every four student deaths is related to alcohol use. Research shows that as many as 360,000 of the nation’s 12 million undergraduates will die as a result of alcohol abuse.” So it’s not to say that colleges are not acknowledging the seriousness of this case, but colleges simply cannot parent their students. Carter, a Chancellor of Loyola University, confirms that colleges are providing all the services they can as an institute. Colleges try to provide an atmosphere where students can learn and grow. What more do parents expect colleges to do? Not every student on campus can be regulated or watched, it is impractical. It’s nearly impossible to even check every student’s possession to make sure they don’t carry weapons that can threaten the school. The Virginia Tech massacre, for instance, could have been avoided on April 16, 2006 if every student on campus was regulated, but then again, that is nearly impossible to accomplish. Hopefully, colleges are saving lives by offering alcohol awareness courses – even if it saves one of every fifty students, one life is valuable and it is better than
Most students attend college as early as the age of eighteen, the age that America considers an adult. An adult by definition is a person who has reached the age of maturity and responsibility and therefore college officials cannot continue to treat their students as children, as the high school administrators do. If colleges or universities began to run like high schools, then students would be solely dependent on school thus be robbed from development. Moreover, students learn by their mistakes, so we shouldn’t restrict everything that’s “bad.” Because college students are adults they should suffer the consequences of their own actions since they have the decision to drink or not. Besides colleges are doing everything they can at their disposal to prevent a handful of students from drowning in alcohol, so their lives ultimately depends on what the parents taught them about alcohol and the consequences that may come along. Parents should be accounted for teaching their ‘children’ how to drink responsibly and perhaps that will avoid future disturbances in the college