Posted on 08/30/2011 2:50:21 PM PDT by flowerplough
Q:Usually when people talk about college binge drinking they use terms like, "epidemic" or "plague." But you don't write about it in such a negative way. Why?
A:The history of alcohol research is the history of pathology. There's a lot of focus on addiction, and the ways in which alcohol destroys lives and destroys families, and in [the] college drinking world in particular, there are these long lists and inventories of all its harms. That's important because some bad things do happen, but what past researchers have missed is why it's fun. I asked that question of my informants, and I could tell it was the first time that anybody asked them that -- "Did you have fun?" "Yeah, of course I had fun." OK, so, what was fun about it? What are the payoffs? ...
Q:College has been associated with binge drinking for a very long time, especially if you think about its portrayals in popular culture. Where does this come from?
A:There's been this social construction of college as a place for heavy drinking, partly thanks to Hollywood depictions. I grew up in the '70s and our major exposure to college was "Animal House" and movies that were all about getting hammered. And then a lot of us are introduced to college through siblings and parents, and people who go to college have a ton of stories about drinking.
But a lot of it has to do with the structural position that these young people are in. They're 18- to 22-year-olds. They're away from the supervision of their parents, many of them for the first time, and that's an important time in life to search for identity. And for my informants alcohol was a vehicle for hooking up and meeting people and having romantic and sexual interactions...
(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...
Dude!
I generally did it as a community bonding effort in an attempt to have casual sex with a female, but that’s just me.
If you had to listen to droning marxists all day, I’d...oh never mind.
Not that I have experience with any of this.
"My advice to you, is to start drinking heavily."
Has there ever been a recorded time in history when college kids did NOT enjoy getting wasted?
Somehow I doubt it.
Because they are children in adult bodies. Most of them have been coddled by parents who fix all their mistakes and never consider asking them to work or be responsible.
College itself is ridiculous. The first 2 years at least are useless repeats of high school material. Until we get government out of education and stop doing things the way they have been done for 100 years, this nonsense will continue. It is time that parents look around for better options for their children than the grind of traditional schooling.
“There’s a time and a place for everything, and it’s called college.” - South Park
Simple. Because college students love getting wasted.
Why do college kids drink?
Because it feels good, which explains a lot of other stuff they do, too. Was this article paid for by a stimulus grant? Is there going to be a study?
“...through siblings and parents, and people who go to college have a ton of stories about drinking.”
Too bad my sister is already dead from her alcholism that took root in college. Although she still serves the purpose as a warning to my kids. That said, I’m glad I survived my college years (and beyond) with no DUI’s and no huge misshaps. Although a buddy of mine did break his neck in a college drunk-driving accident. Survived luckily.
Okay - sorry. PARTY ON!!
Why do dogs lick their b@lls?
Because most kids can’t party like that in high school which I did and was pretty well burned out to it by 20.
Ever read the story upon which Animal House was based?
Fits pretty well in this thread, IMO.
we live in a degenerating society
btw, why aren’t drinking age laws enforced on campus?
Because there aren’t that many cops on the planet and if there were, everyone would be kicked out of school?
“sister is already dead from her alcholism that took root in college”
Condolences. For me, it’s my youngest aunt, and her using/abusing/dependence began earlier; she didn’t spend all that much time in college.
They’ve seen what their futures look like
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