“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
This “Animal House” quote comes to mind when thinking of college binge drinking: an all-too-common occurrence on Butler University’s campus.
According to the Office for Substance Abuse and Prevention, college students spend $5.5 billion annually on alcohol, mostly beer.
This is more than they spend on books, soda, coffee, juice and milk combined.
The practice of binge drinking is dangerous because college students who engage in this weekly ritual glorify it.
I always hear the excuse that students at Butler drink because there is nothing else to do during weekends.
This is where Good Clean Fun comes in.
The organization promotes late-night programming that is “always legal, safe, cheap and hangover free,” according to its Facebook page.
Good Clean Fun also announces events on or close to Butler’s campus daily to give students plenty of options that don’t involve alcohol.
For example, they recently made an announcement about the Fallon flash mob on the Butler Bowl, occurring this Wednesday evening at 8:30 p.m., homecoming kick-off and the Health and Recreation Complex’s high ropes course.
There’s no excuse not to join them in some non-drinking activities.
I was one of those people who just didn’t see the point in spending all my hard-earned money on alcohol every weekend. And clearly, I’m not alone.
According to data from a 2008 CORE Survey at Butler, “58 percent of Butler students reported that they did not have more than five drinks in one sitting in a two week period.” However, 42 percent is still too high a percentage of students drinking excessively at Butler.
Not only is alcohol expensive (and it is, even if you buy the cheap stuff, because you buy too much of it) but it rarely has positive outcomes.
After a night of binge drinking you get to look forward to a sure hangover, likely vomiting, killer headache, lost, stolen or broken objects, embarrassing photos or text messages and an empty wallet.
Sounds like a great weekend to me.
Save your money, save your time and save yourself the embarrassment.
I promise it’s possible to have fun on campus and still remember it the next day.
The social aspect of college seems pointless if one can’t have the coherent fun that comes with it.
Believe it or not, but college is the time when you expand your circle of friends and really open yourself up to life around you.
However, if you are constantly too sloppy-drunk to take advantage of the opportunities presented within those four years, college will appear as nothing more than a tilted, glassy-eyed glimpse of a keg stand.
Instead of spending your weekends drinking to the point of memory loss, do something constructive, like visiting the Indianapolis Museum of Art, catching up with old friends, working out, or my personal favorite: sleeping in.
Take it from me; it’s very possible to be loud and belligerent in public without losing control.
So instead of downing shots all weekend and risking your health, trade in the tequila for some soda and spend your weekend having some actual good, clean fun.