From one generation to the next, we have seemingly continued this ridiculous practice of "binge drinking". Sure, let's all see who can drink the most, who passes out first, and let's not forget throwing-up? Yes, you haven't experienced the true effects of binge drinking until you've thrown-up all over yourself. But why, why is it that today's generation feels that this is fun? Risking your life to fit in isn't fun. Fun is going to an amusement park or even a baseball game. Unfortunately, college campuses across the nation are preoccupied by this issue of alcohol abuse. Binge drinking in the U.S. is out of control and mostly a problem that our government has produced. It is a byproduct of legal age limits for drinking. Therefore, putting an age limit on drinking privileges is definitely something that needs to be reevaluated.
             Binge drinking is defined as "the consumption of five or more drinks in a row on at least one occasion" (Webster's 61). In national surveys, "about a third of high school seniors and 42 percent of college students reported at least one occasion of binge drinking within the previous two weeks" (Thompson 35). It also has been nationally identified that "alcohol has been related to 75 percent of campus police arrests, 80 percent of residence hall damages, 85 percent of sexual assaults, 70 percent of discipline referrals, and 50 percent of suicide attempts" (Thompson 35).
             Since 1993 our problem has only worsened. The Harvard School of Public Health's Alcohol Study found that " among heavy drinkers, it has also found an increase in those who said they not only binged but binged frequently: they rose to 20.7% of the 14,521 students in 1997 survey from 19.5% of more than 15,000 students in the 1993 sample" (Goldberg A8). The problem is not the age in which one should drink, but the way they do drink. Students binge because they have never been taught how to drink responsibly.
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