Binge Drinking

            
             Every weekend across the country, at least one university student dies because of an alcohol-related event during the school year. The truth is, we've all drank more than we should have. Those late night parties that don't end until everyone is passed out and the kegs are all kicked. But have you ever stopped to think about the danger that you put yourself as well as others every time you get trashed? Eighty-seven percent of college students say they have been victimized by binge-drinking friends, roommates or neighbors. Drinking began to take over our University a few years back, and students started paying the price for drinking themselves into oblivion. The students who were arrested at parties, or got caught drinking and driving were the lucky ones. They are all still alive and healthy today. It's the students that were killed, raped, or paralyzed in drunken accidents that prompted the University and the City of Newark to lay down the laws. In the past four years this college has lost it's recognition as one of the biggest party schools on the East coast. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has taken effect on our school in attempt to stop binge drinking, and the five-year, $700,000 grant from the Foundation has helped to more than double UD's population of students who abstain from alcohol.
             Binge drinking, also known as "drinking heavily", can be defined as consuming a large quantity of alcohol over a short amount of time with the intentions of becoming drunk. Many people associate binge drinking with "the four Vs"-violence, vandalism, vomit and victims. A Harvard School of Public Health study revealed that 44 percent of all students nationwide are binge drinkers. This statistic may be the result of students not knowing their limit when it comes to alcohol. But then again, maybe they do. When you're in the mood and the bar is packed, students love to get wasted. Many try to drink a beer fast so they can get another and "be drunk by last call".