Bottles of alcohol: are displayed in the shot room at Bar 51. Drinking too heavily while celebrating a birthday can result in harmful effects like feeling ill or alcohol poisoning. Plainsman Archive
For many students, turning 21 is one of the final steps to be taken into adulthood.
And with that final step, they love to celebrate. Go big or go home, right?
But students can take the celebration to a dangerous level by drinking too heavily.
The latest college binge drinking game is to have 21 drinks on the twenty-first birthday.
This can be viewed as extreme because a student can binge drink without even knowing it.
Christopher Correia, an associate professor in psychology, said surveys report 50 percent of college students will say they have been binge drinking in the last two weeks.
“College binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks on an occasion for females and five or more drinks for males,” Correia said. “It is a fairly prevalent behavior.”
The legal limit for BAC, blood alcohol content, is .08 in Alabama. Studies show if a 150 pound male has 21 drinks in a span of five hours, his BAC would be .492.
“It is very dangerous,” Correia said. “It puts you at risk for many short-term consequences, but it can also be fatal. It could lead to alcohol poisoning and could completely shut down your respiratory system.”
Chris Ford, a senior in history, has friends and family who did 21 shots on their 21st birthday. Ford also did it.
“I don’t think there is a problem with drinking,” Ford said. “It just boils down to just knowing your limit and how much you are capable of drinking. Just be smart about it.”
Ford said the key is to spread your drinks out over time, instead of doing it all at once.
“Kids nowadays come to college, and they jump face first into drinking and partying,” Ford said. “They need to be smart about things, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.”
Correia wants students to know that drinking heavily on your 21st birthday is how most are socialized.
“Students might have that expectation that that is what they are going to do when they turn 21,” Correia said. “But it is important to point out that based on the research I’ve seen, very few students actually drink 21 drinks on their 21st birthday.”
Christine Seigler, a senior in history, also said attempting to have 21 drinks on a twenty-first birthday is dangerous, and some students try it because turning 21 symbolizes a new-found freedom.
“I think it is because they are finally legal to do it, so now they think they won’t get into trouble,” Seigler said.
Studies conducted here at Auburn and other universities suggest the average student drinks 7 to 8 drinks on their 21st birthday.
This birthday tradition still reaches the definition of binge drinking.
“It’s not a safe practice, and fortunately, the data suggests that it is not something a lot of people do,” Correia said.
The important thing to remember for those turning 21 is to know your limit or avoid drinking to binge-level proportions.
Students can put themselves at risk of not enjoying their birthday celebration because they feel ill.
They could also black out or pass out and miss the celebration altogether or spend the event having their stomachs pumped at the ER.
“Any birthday is a great occasion, and going out with friends or family and having a moderate amount of alcohol is an acceptable way of celebrating,” Correia said. “Just think of alcohol as one way of marking that occasion.”
June 20, 2008 - 11:39am
Bars
All bars display liquor bottles. Also, bars don't encourage binge drinking, if you are intoxicated you are monitored by sober bar employees who have you overall safety and well being in mind. What the article doesn't mention is that while bars are in the business of pouring drinks, some are responsible about doing it by offering a sober ride home like the War Eagle Supper Club and Bar 51 pictured above. Kids are going to do what they want to do in public or in the privacy of their own home. You can and will be cut off at a bar, you wont be cut off by your peers if they are just as intoxicated as you are.