“IT’S NOT ALCOHOLISM UNTIL I GRADUATE.” YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?

The interviewees in this article requested to remain anonymous in order to answer truthfully, in fear of negative professional and academic repercussions, and therefore use pseudonyms.

The phrase “it’s not alcoholism until you graduate” is popular among college students. 

It means student’s alcoholic-like behaviors are acceptable while in college because they see it as an appropriate time for overconsumption. However, this normalization brings a variety of health problems. 

Many factors helped create the concept “it’s not alcoholism until you graduate,” including vulnerability in new college students while being introduced to alcohol and the college culture.

The Numbers 

The University of Oregon (UO) reports 55% of Ducks report having at least one alcoholic beverage in the last 30 days. The bigger problem comes from the volume of alcohol consumed. 

According to a self-reported questionnaire conducted by the National Library of Medicine, 31% of college students met the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6% for alcohol dependence.

Additionally, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports 33% of college students engaged in binge drinking in the past month. The NIAAA defines binge drinking as “a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 percent or higher.” This corresponds to consuming five or more drinks for males and four or more drinks for females in a two-hour span. 

Furthermore, over 90% of alcohol consumed by young people is in the form of binge drinking, according to McLean (Harvard Medical School Affiliate). 

Simply, about 30% of college students engage in binge drinking, and binge drink approximately 90% of the time they consume alcohol. They do not know how or do not care to drink responsibly.

The Beginning

Many students first arriving at college have little to no experience with alcohol. They are met with easy access, little supervision, open schedules and peer pressure, according to the NIAAA.  

Matilda Del Rey, UO second year, said students, who have little alcohol experience before starting college, who see many students binge drinking, may feel the need to join to make friends. She said, “if you're not going out … you’re kind of lame.” 

Furthermore, college is an easy place to participate in underage drinking. Alcohol is readily available, and parents cannot supervise, Del Rey said. She added that for many, school begins to feel optional, opening their schedules for non-academic activities. Students gain new levels of freedom and are pressured to push the boundaries. 

Students who have not been taught how to drink responsibly, lack the experience and education to understand how they react to alcohol, and can easily fall into the “vicious cycle,” of alcohol abuse, Del Rey said. 

As students enter this pattern of heavy drinking, it is hard to break away. Those first few weeks have the power to shape the rest of college (and maybe their life) if they are unable to pull themselves out of the cycle, Miley Carter, UO third year, said. 

The Middle

Avoiding alcohol can be difficult on a college campus. Many students’ college experiences will involve alcohol, either by choice or chance. 

Jessica Brown, UO second year, said many college students “rely on alcohol and partying as a way to have fun and socialize with one another.” She said people use the abundance of events as a place to drink. Catherine Monique, UO fourth year, said, “a lot of people rely on bars and areas that involve drinking to socialize with people they may not see every day.”

However, drinking is not just between students. Monique said professors she knows have asked students to go to a bar for meetings or discussions. 

“As much as I think that is a unique way to connect with students on a more casual level, I do think for students who prefer to stay away from alcohol, it makes it hard and uncomfortable to bond with faculty and other students,” she said. 

The encouragement of alcohol use by professors isolates students who prefer to refrain. Additionally, academic-related events held at bars actively exclude these students. Those who are sober may feel isolated and excluded from their peers, and these negative feelings may pull students back into the world of alcohol.

The End

Alcohol can affect the young brain in a variety of ways. According to the Western Australia Department of Health, the two areas most affected by underage alcohol use are the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. 

Studies show that heavy adolescent alcohol use is associated with a 10% reduction in the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning, and a smaller prefrontal cortex, the part important for planning, judgment, decision-making, impulse control and language. 

Additionally, alcohol use is linked to negative academic performance. The National Library of Medicine reports drinking has a direct negative effect on GPA and reduces study hours. “My freshman year I was drinking so much, I pretty much failed school,” Del Rey said. 

Alcohol can also take a serious toll on a user’s mental health. Anxiety caused by drinking is commonly referred to as “hangxiety.” A clever play of words combines anxiety and hangover to describe feelings of anxiety associated with poor decisions made while intoxicated. Del Rey said alcohol has caused such negative feelings for her that, sometimes, she feels her only solution is to run away. 

Lastly, alcohol abuse poses threats to a student’s physical safety. Many sexual assault cases among students involve alcohol. “Alcohol plays a big part in sexual assault at the UO. Lots of the time it is ignored because one or both parties is intoxicated,” Carter said. Del Rey said she thinks any girl in the alcohol world has experienced some form of sexual assault. 

Clearly, adolescent alcohol abuse on college campuses  is cause for concern. University faculty and staff are primarily responsible for the well-being of students and must hold themselves accountable. 

The Solutions? 

According to UO’s Drug-Free Campus Report, the university is fundamentally opposed to the abuse of alcohol. It is the policy of UO to prevent our students and employees from injuring themselves through the use and abuse of alcohol. The university seeks to engage all members of its academic community in the fight to prevent alcohol abuse.

UO’s main attempt to combat overconsumption is the required UO Prevention Course. The goal of the alcohol portion of the course is “to reduce the negative consequences of substance misuse and abuse.” 

Students said they do not feel the course is successful in educating and curbing overconsumption. Monique said it hinders students from being honest because it tells them what is wrong with them rather than explaining how to do better.

Carter said the course ends up becoming a competition among students, and the winners are those with drinking habits that rank high among their peers. The course is generally not taken seriously.  

Other resources offered by UO include Alcohol E-Checkup to Go, Alcohol Use Diagnostic Inventory Test and various alcohol-related articles on the Office of the Dean of Students webpage. When asked about these resources, Carter, Del Rey, Monique and Brown said they were unaware they even existed. 

The solutions offered by UO do not engage all members of its academic community in the fight to prevent alcohol abuse, and especially do not prevent students and employees from injuring themselves through the use and abuse of alcohol.