Many young people go through a period of experimentation with different behaviors and attitudes to learn if these are compatible with themselves, values, and goals. Many carry out this process with a notion of their family's history of drug and alcohol use and possible dependency. Research also suggests alcohol consumption among college students will increase when the following conditions or factors are present:.
• Large numbers of young adults are concentrated in a social settings like fraternities, sororities, athletics, and other organizations;.
• Binge drinking is an established norm among the general student population;.
• There is a high density of alcohol outlets;.
• Alcohol consumption is encouraged by price discounting;.
• Alcohol is aggressively advertised;.
• The negative consequences of high-risk drinking are unknown or ignored by the drinkers and/or their community. (Maust).
So what are the effects alcohol has on students? Each year it kills 40,000 Americans. It can damage and destroy every organ in the body, scarring and pocking the liver until it looks like a lump of drying lava, laying waste to the heart, pancreas, arteries, throat, and stomach, snuffing out receptors in the brain. Every year, alcoholism costs our country over 80 billion dollars, is implicated in 30 percent of suicides and 46 percent of teen suicides, and is a factor in one of four hospital admissions. (Back from the drink) More closely related to college students and their communities, alcohol can contribute to more "deaths, injuries, sexual assaults, rape, poor grades, interruptions in study, irregular sleep patterns, property damages, and unwanted sexual activities." (Keeley).
What can we do to prevent or even stop alcohol abuse on college campuses? There have been many different strategies conducted to prevent alcohol use by students.
