Final update on underage drinking charge...

[armyowalgreens]

I went to my meeting this morning to discuss the whole party mishap. While the lady was very nice, she spent way too much time explaining why beer pong is "binge" drinking.

I am now on academic probation for 12 months and I have to take a $120 alcohol awareness class.


Because clearly I am not already aware of alcohol or it's effects. :eyes:

[rug]

1. When you go ask what's the best grape for claret.

[TK421]

26. LOL!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: you want him to get expelled?

[taterguy]

2. Obviously anyone caught drinking Coors needs more education about alcohol

Just wanted to be the first to get that in.

:toast:

[armyowalgreens]

4. I drink what they give me. It's hard to be picky with you can't buy it yourself.

betch.

[taterguy]

6. Man up

Tell me to fuck off and that you'll drink whatever you damn well please.

But don't go around blaming others for your failings.

Keep doing that and it will bite you in the ass someday.

Sincerely

A Wiser Elder

[MajorChode]

7. I'm just trying to figure out where most of your wisdom lies

In failings or alcohol?

From experience I can opine that they are two pees in the same pisser, but I thought I would defer to your expertise.

[armyowalgreens]

8. It's not my fault that it's your fault that I failed.

Maybe next time you'll have the courtesy to bring some shiner bock.

[Chan790]

3. Muntz.

(I had to do it...I was an RA in college and spent most of my time in the on-campus bar getting smashed with my residents.)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Show up drunk. Order a drink.

[triguy46]

9. Just follow the rules, do your time...

With 20 years of higher ed student affairs experience, I can assure you that even though you think the administration is fucked up, they (we), hold your fate in our hands. We've booted 3 in 2 weeks for not abiding by their drug and alcohol sanctions. At some point, you must take this seriously, the college will not cease to exist if you are asked to leave.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Good point.

The college is a soulless, mechanical bureaucracy.

[triguy46]

16. There is plenty of room for individualism, creativity, self expression...

but alcohol violations are not part of that. We've seen it for years, no need to make a stand on this issue because the rules will chew the violators up. We always give second chances, but no need to play games, either.

We're damned if we do, damned if we don't. If we ignore and there's a wreck or an overdose, we catch it from parents, alums, media, community. If we enforce, we're viewed as assholes. From our view, we really prefer to avoid the 4AM call to parents to tell them of a tragedy involving their child.

[triguy46]

18. oops, dupe

[lightningandsnow]

10. This is what I don't get about the drinking age in the US.

Seriously.

It's 19 here in Canada, and 19-20 year olds aren't dying left and right from alcohol consumption.

In fact, I get the impression that drunk driving and binge drinking are actually less common here. I think it's honestly because people are more nonchalant about alcohol in Canada...it isn't such a big deal.

[taterguy]

12. The drinking age is 21 because of incidents involving driving

Massive lobbying by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

I have no idea what the DUI rates in Canada are and I'm too drunk to Google it.

[MajorChode]

15. In many areas of Europe, you can drink at 16...

but you can't drive until 18. Seems to be a reasonable tradeoff.

[MajorChode]

19. People in the US get WAY too uptight about alcohol

Moreover we have some of the stupidest alcohol laws anywhere.

Because of the dipshit puritanical attitudes toward alcohol, it's impossible to open a liquor store within 20 miles of my house, but the local knuckledraggers can buy cheap fucking beer on every corner. Almost every day I see them busting open a case of dishwater beer, putting it inside a cooler, throwing the case down on the parking lot, and putting the cooler in the back seat. Then they drive off with a beer in each hand. So I have to drive 20 miles to buy a bottle of cognac or even Marsala wine to stock my liquor cabinet, but Joe-Bob and Bubba will be half in the bag by the time they are 2 miles away from the convenience store. It's moronic to say the least.

[rrneck]

48. Here in the United States

excess is what we do.

[Brigid]

11. You think underage drinking isn't a serious matter?

That's the impression I'm getting here. If so, you're wrong.

[MadBadger]

13. You're right, it is a serious matter

It is seriously wrong that an 18 year old cannot drink alcohol.

[Brigid]

22. Oh, come on.

When was the last time you heard of an 18-year-old drinking without making a total idiot of himself?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. Oh, you're talking about binge drinking?

Because that's a function of the 21 drinking age limit.

Since 18 year olds only have access to alcohol on occasion, they drink what they can when they can get it.

I blame the teetotalers for the problems of underage binge drinking.

[Brigid]

24. You blame the "teetotalers" for underage drinking?

If you are old enough to drink, then you're old enough to take responsibility for what you do as a result. You, and no one else. If I were to get drunk and make a fool of myself, how is it that anyone else could be responsible for it?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. No, binge drinking.

There's nothing wrong with underage drinking, so there's nobody to blame.

"If I were to get drunk and make a fool of myself, how is it that anyone else could be responsible for it?"

If they're not treated like responsible adults, they're not going to act like responsible adults.

[MajorChode]

38. It has more to do with the atitudes towards alcohol

If you go to middle Europe, you'll find that alcohol in firmly engrained into their culture. Beer, wine, and/or spirits will be found at the dinner table in the vast majority of houses. Some even have a beer or a glass of wine with lunch even in the workplace. Yet problems with alcohol are far less prevelant at all age groups compared to the US.

[armyowalgreens]

41. Actually I'm pretty sure that's not true.

IIRC, most European countries have similar rates of alcoholism compared to the US.

[MajorChode]

42. The key word is "most"

Which I avoided. There are many eastern European countries and some northern ones that have some of the same problems with alcohol that you hear with Russia and vodka is the drink of choice. It's much different in middle European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Austria, etc.).

[armyowalgreens]

43. I specifically remember someone arguing that Italy had a similar rate to us.

But they could have been full of shit.

[MajorChode]

45. I would be very surprised if that's true based on my experience in Italy

But you also have to be careful with the standards applied. Some use a standard for alcoholism that specifies a number of drinks over a lengthy period like a week or a month which produces mixed results. It might be a decent indicator of the number of alcoholics within some specific groups, but for trying to compare two different groups that have a completely different culture towards alcohol, it's complete shit. If you're routinely having a drink at lunch, one when you get home, and a couple with dinner every single day, you can rack up a pretty good total at the end of the month, but that's much different than someone getting completely smashed every other weekend even though the amount of alcohol might be the same. I thought I drank a lot until I moved to Europe and started hanging out with Europeans. Even though I didn't see people getting drunk all that much, many do have a regular routine that they follow every day. They know how to drink. That's why I was also careful to specify "problems" with alcohol. By that I mean drunk driving, missing work, domestic violence, and other problems associated with alcohol abuse specifically. So all of that may be hard to quantify in some type of report that singles out causations of those things directly related to alcohol. I'm just basing it on my own experience living in Europe. I saw a lot of alcohol use. I saw a big difference in attitudes toward alcohol. I didn't see a lot of problems with alcohol.

[Chan790]

30. I never made an ass of myself at 18...

of course, being raised by parents who had zero respect for the drinking age, drinking was boring and old-at by 18.

In case you can't tell, I don't think we should have a drinking age. The entirety of the appeal is the verbotenness of alcohol...if you've been drinking wine with dinner since you were 9, you feel no desire or inclination to go hang out in a stinky dormitory room and drink yourself into a coma on Coors Light.

Substance-control laws create the very issues they fail to fix. So...no I don't think underage drinking is the problem. Better alcohol education and the abandonment of failed policies and laws is the solution.

[MadBadger]

39. Ive seen just as many 18,19,20 year olds make a total idiot of themselves as I have 21, 22 yr olds

[armyowalgreens]

40. I've drank plenty of times without acting like an idiot.

We aren't 5. You trust us to do a myriad of complicated and important tasks. Yet you think we aren't capable of consuming alcohol. That is fucking dumb.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

44. If the 18-year-old was raised in a home

where alcohol wasn't demonized and the child was taught how to drink responsibly, what its effects are, and how to do it right, an 18-year-old won't make a total fool of himself. It happens all the time.

Beer bongs are strictly for the purpose of getting drunk.

Getting drunk for the pure joy of getting drunk seems to be a rite of passage for kids, so they're going to do it. The trick is to make sure they don't hurt themselves while they're doing it..........................................

[cherish44]

47. Most people of any age can't drink without making total idiots of themselves

I personally can't stand the company of drunks. Yeah I'm what's known as a "buzzkill". I can live with that :)

[lightningandsnow]

50. I have, on occasion, had a glass of wine with dinner.

Actually.

And I'm 17.

[MajorChode]

21. They should raise the drinking age to 30

...and maybe 40.

That would solve a lot of problems.

[TK421]

27. And people would still violate that law n/t

[MajorChode]

28. But at least it wouldn't be such a pisser to turn 30.

[TK421]

29. I started messing around with drinking ( and some drugs ) with my brother

when I was 16....around that age it seems to me that if someone is curious enough to try something there is nothing anyone could say or do to prevent them from doing so...not even the parents. I just think the urge is bound to hit sooner or later.

However, if the person can't control the booze then you got a problem there that needs intervention. This situation was a college party...happens all the time, at least it wasn't a hazing incident

[MajorChode]

31. I had a few beers starting at 14

My mom caught me and went absolutely ape shit. About all my dad had to say on the subject was he'd better not catch me drinking scab beer again (Coors).

The biggest attraction at the time was it was something that was forbidden. I let my son have a half a glass of wine every now and then at dinner occassionally in his early teens. As a result he never really had a curiosity about alcohol and the concept never really struck him as rebelious. Now he's of legal drinking age and he's never had a problem with alcohol.

[TK421]

32. Well, it seems like he had a responsible parent for his upbringing...

my dad would give me beer from time-to-time and the first time I smoked it was my moms cigarettes I took....when she found out, she wasn't too happy about it but didn't really grill me on it either. Everything in moderation.....that's what my dad used to tell me, and he was right.

[MajorChode]

35. Everything in moderation...

including moderation.

[Forkboy]

33. If you're old enough to kill for the government, you're old enough to drink.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

17. "Because clearly I am not already aware of alcohol or it's effects."

There's always room to learn more.

[triguy46]

20. A recent study has found that binge drinking among 18-24 yo age cohort

has diminished over past 20 years except for one group: college and university students.

[Forkboy]

34. Just start doing heroin. No age limit.

:hide:

[KamaAina]

36. If you get caught again, will they put you on double secret probation?

:shrug:

[dorktv]

37. I just fine 'em $500.

Not a secret that you have to be 21 to drink in Arizona.

[LostInAnomie]

46. Just pay the lip service they're looking for...

... and smile and nod when they're giving you their stupid and pointless speeches. That's all you have to do. It's just another one of those stupid hoops you have to jump through in life.

I remember when I was in college they had this study that said that something like 70% of the student's binge drank at least once a week. This sounds high, but they were defining "binge drinking" as three drinks over the course of a night. It was a joke then, and it's a joke now.

[rrneck]

49. A large part of higher education

is training in dealing with bureaucracy. One of the first things I learned in college is don't talk to anyone in charge of anything without a piece of paper in your hand. It could be fucking toilet paper, but make sure it looks like you already talked to some other wonk who said it was ok to talk to this wonk. Such is life.

Feel lucky you are finding your limits with alcohol. If this were about sixty years ago you'd be performing the same exercise is some place like Okinawa. Around sixty thousand years ago you'd be throwing a pointed stick at a large agressive mammal. Teenage males make the best cannon fodder because they have questionable impulse control and I have been told (by a shrink) that they don't really develop a clear sense of consequences before their mid twenties. The draft age is 18 because you're strong enough to carry a rifle but too young to realize you're not invincible.

You seem to be ahead of the curve. Hoist one for me after the class.