Beating the Binge
Beirut, Pong, Quarters, Flip Cup, the Name Game, and 7-11 doubles are just a few of the names given to what is quickly becoming the new great American past-time for young people, drinking to excess. College-age students across the country have taken to channeling their energies into the creation of drinking games like these, without perhaps looking at the consequences of such creatively destructive behavior.
In the United States, forty-four percent of persons ages eighteen to twenty-one are enrolled in colleges or universities (1). According to recent statistics released by the Health and Education Center, forty-four percent of college students are categorized as heavy drinkers. Alcohol abuse is one of the biggest issues on college campuses nationwide, but what is it that makes excessive alcohol consumption such a concern in the year 2003?
Excessive alcohol consumption is often known as binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as the consumption of at least five or more alcoholic beverages for men and four or more alcoholic beverages for women in a row on a given occasion (2). Studies show that in addition to the forty-four percent of college students who binge drink, one third of high school seniors also admit to having binged at least once in the two weeks prior to being surveyed. The greatest question posed, is why does such a destructive activity appeal in particular to this age group?
One might initially assume that all people in this age bracket are prone to participate in binge drinking. However, while forty-four percent of college students binge drink, only thirty-four percent of students the same age who are not enrolled in a college or university binge drink. There may be several reason...
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...and I would venture to say that it is a small percentage of students who suffer problems of alcoholism and alcohol abuse later in life. I believe that this particular age group is prone to rebellion and experimentation. Some propose that lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen once again would remedy the situation. However, I believe that carefree behavior and to a certain extent, irresponsibility are inherent to this particular age group, and is merely a part of human maturation.
References
1) United States Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb98-ff.09.html<br>
2) The Health and Education Center
http://www.edc.org/hec/pubs/factsheets/scope.html
3) How Alcohol Works
http://science.howstuffworks.com/alcohol2.htm
4) Can We Change the Entire College Drinking Culture
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/college/a/aa020415a.htm
According to the SSDP the reason that the drinking age is what its is all around the country right now is because the states were forced into it by the government, The government cut state highway founding by 10% to any state that didn 't play ball. This according to the students took away any chances of state coming up with better methods of preventing alcohol abuse among the younger kids. “campaigns/lowering-drinking-age http:ssdp.org”
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a “musical tragicomedy” (Wikipedia) directed by Joss Whedon in 2008 during the Writers Guild of America strike. It was originally released as a web series with three 14 minute episodes. The film centers on Dr. Horrible, a super villain with “a PhD in horribleness” (Whedon) who desires to get into the exclusive Evil League of Evil commanded by Bad Horse and alleviate the “misery of the human condition” (Wikipedia). At the same time he is striving to win the affections of Penny, a girl who is the embodiment of good, as his alter ego Billy as they meet at the Laundromat each week. Rounding out the trio is Captain Hammer; a brawny, self-centered superhero who, to Dr. Horrible’s chagrin, is well-loved in the city of Los Angeles. The three main characters create an incongruous love triangle with the ne’er do wrong Penny at the center. This film is chaotic and ironic as it challenges the common roles taken by superhero and super villain in most classic and modern movies. At the same time, it has an undercurrent of unrequited love reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin films. The conflicting genres that Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog encompasses reflect Dr. Horrible’s own character duality.
Getting Serious About Eradicating Binge Drinking is an informative article by Henry Wechsler. Wechsler has worked with the College Alcohol study since its creation in 1992, and he also lectures at the School of Public Health at Harvard. In his article, Weschler discusses the prominent trend of binge drinking on college campuses and how to solve the widespread problem. Binge drinking is a term used to describe the act drinking alcoholic beverages with the intention of becoming intoxicated over a short period of time.
“80 percent of teen-agers have tried alcohol, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide” (Underage, CNN.com pg 3). Students may use drinking as a form of socializing, but is it really as good as it seems? The tradition of drinking has developed into a kind of “culture” fixed in every level of the college student environment. Customs handed down through generations of college drinkers reinforce students' expectation that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success. These perceptions of drinking are the going to ruin the lives of the students because it will lead to the development alcoholism. College students who drink a lot, while in a college environment, will damage themselves mentally, physically, and socially later in life, because alcohol adversely affects the brain, the liver, and the drinkers behavior.
I understand that the nation’s history has long prohibited and shunned suicide, but in my opinion this is different. This is a more dignified death, which deals with personal autonomy. I understand the fears that the different states have regarding legalizing assisted suicide. However, other countries as well as some of the states have legalized it. It has not caused mass assisted suicides and I believe that it could be done in such a way that does not comprise the patient doctor trust. I am not saying that I condone assisted suicide for everyone, but it needs to be an option for people. I think that if abortion is an option, then assisted suicide should be too.
...le pain to both the patient and to their families. One procedure, known as Physician-Assisted suicide, alleviates suffering by having a physician provide a patient the means to painlessly kill him or herself. This procedure however, remains controversial and illegal in many states. This is unfair to patients who wish to be assisted in seeking death and escaping their terminal illness. Despite all of the benefits that are brought about because of Physician-Assisted suicide, people across America still seek to ban the practice because it clashes with personal moral and ethical beliefs. Although many people disagree with the procedure of Physician-Assisted suicide, it should still become legal because it alleviates suffering, allows patients to die in a dignified manner, and allows people to take control of the ultimate choice, death, away from their terminal illness.
were drinking to get drunk than their counterparts a decade earlier, and one recent study reported an increase, just since 1994, in the number of students who drink deliberately to get drunk? (Smith 1). I interviewed my friend Shelly Mitchell who recently turned twenty-one and asked her how she felt about finally being legal to drink. She quoted, ?It is not as exciting to drink anymore, I mean I still like to go out with my friends to bars, but the fun is all over, in high school and college it was so exciting trying to get alcohol by using a fake ID.? All of these factors could be changed by lowering the drinking age to eighteen. In a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, binge drinking is defined as five drinks in a row for boys and four drinks for girls. And when they did a survey they found that 44% of the students attending Harvard binge drink (Jeffrey Kluger 1).
Although widely condoned around the world, only one nation, the Netherlands has made physician assisted suicide legal. Five states tried Washington in 1991, California in 1992, Michigan in 1998,and main in 2000, Oregon in 1994 approved the “Death with Dignity Act” it won 51 percent to 49 percent. 91 people committed suicide with the aid of a physician in the first four years the law was in effect.
Despite the problems that would arise, many people are beginning to feel that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Studies have been made; however, no hard evidence suggesting lowering the minimum drinking age would help have surfaced. Although there are countless studies of how alcohol has many harmful effects on teenagers, there is a great deal of negative criticism about what if the drinking age is lowered. Some would say the morally right decision is to not allow teens the chance to hurt themselves. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions and beliefs. However, the overall health of the youth of our country seems a little more important than some personal belief. The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol-related medical issues related to teens will increase.
In this article, Dr. Braddock and Dr. Tonelli explain the difference between physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. Physician assisted suicide is “Practice in which a physician provides a competent, terminally ill patient with a prescription for a lethal dose of medication, upon the patient's request, which the patient intends to use to end his or her own life” (Braddock and Tonelli). The authors then describes that euthanasia is when the physician administers the lethal medication. They write this article with the intent to inform the public about this highly controversial subject. The Dr.’s explain the positive side in assisted suicide as, “Physician aid-in-dying is ethically justifiable” (Braddock and Tonelli). They write that people who are for assisted death are about respect, justice, compassion, individual liberty, and honesty for the sick and dying . The authors then explain that, on the other hand, “Physician assisted suicide is ethically impermissible” (Braddock and Tonelli). They give examples, that could have a negative impact on society, such as, religion, potential for abuse, false diagnosis or prognosis, and how it could been seen as a contradiction to the Hippocratic oath.
In 2007, the American Geriatrics Society defined Physician-Assisted Suicide as, “When a physician provides either equipment or medication, or informs the patient of the most efficacious use of already available means, for the purpose of assisting the patient to end his or her own life” (qtd. in Lachman 121). Physician-Assisted Suicide is what it says, suicide. In the United States the controversy of the “Right to die” is not new. According to Vicki D. Lachman a Clinical Associate Professor, after the Supreme Court decision in 1997, it was determined that there is not a constitutional right to die. The Supreme Court is allowing states to pass laws to legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide. Since then three states, Oregon, Washington, and Montana have made it legal to perform Phy...
Physician assisted suicide is murder. Using euthanasia, increased dosage of morphine or injecting patient’s with a lethal combination of drugs to slow his/her breathing until he/she dies is also murder. Physician assisted suicide is morally wrong. The classical theory for physician assisted suicide is utilitarianism because according to Mosser 2010, “utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines the moral value of an act in terms of its results and if those results produce the greatest good for the greatest number.” Utilitarianism will solve the physician assisted suicide problem if all of the physicians will stand by the oath they say. According to the Hippocratic Oath doctor says, “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.”
Binge or excessive drinking is the most serious problem affecting social life, health, and education on college campuses today. Binge or excessive drinking by college students has become a social phenomena in which college students do not acknowledge the health risks that are involved with their excessive drinking habits. Furthermore college students do not know enough about alcohol in general and what exactly it does to the body or they do not pay attention to the information given to them. There needs to be a complete saturation on the campus and surrounding areas, including businesses and the media, expressing how excessive drinking is not attractive and not socially accepted.
According to most state laws assisted suicide is illegal. An assisted suicide is a form of murder since the doctor administers a lethal dose of medication to the patients. Therefore, a doctor who has performed this act should receive the jail sentence of a murderer. Some people believe that these doctors are not performing anything illegal and that they should continue their practices. This group of people believe in euthanasia, meaning an easy and painless death or a peaceful manner of dying (Webster 631). This includes committing suicide when the person is fully competent but wishes to end his life as a result of the pain that he must endure every day. Committing suicide is viewed by its opponents as an act of cowardice that many people perform because they do not want to deal with their problems in life. This type of action should be dealt with immediately. A study shows that one-fifth of all doctors and nurses have actively helped end a patient’s life (Van Biema 2). This is not a promising statistic for the future of America. One out of every five doctors has helped a person escape his life.
Most people do not realize that alcohol is a drug that claims the lives of youth in college campuses across the world. In my case, it took the encounter with the ORL staff at UCLA for me to come to understanding that I am putting myself and those around me in danger through my risky drinking habits. With hours of self-reflection and the help of a cosmopolitan article called The Deadly Drinking Mistakes Smart Girls Make, I have found that there are several risks associated with alcohol that can put me at a quarrel with death. Even so, drinking does not always need to be deadly, and by keeping in mind the well-being of my fellow bruins and the skills mentioned in the article, I can find a balance between drinking for fun and drinking till death.