The drinking culture here at the University of Maine is abysmal. There may be several factors that contribute to a heavy drinking culture, many of which are pretty much unavoidable. Whether you’re a newly arrived freshman, or a weathered senior, you’ll experience the influence that alcohol has on college students at some point during your time at UMaine. If not you directly, someone you know will likely be affected. Greek life is a major contributor to the drinking that occurs here, but is not completely at fault. Peer pressure from friends is another huge contributing factor, as well as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
Drinking at college has become a ritual that students often see as an integral part of their higher education experience. Some students come to college with established drinking habits, and the college environment can lead to a problem. It seems as though Thursday through Sunday is just enough reason to be inebriated. There are no shortages of reasons to partake in the act of drinking here at UMaine. Failed a test? Drink. Passed a test? Drink. Did laundry? Take a shot! You earned it!
According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) of full-time college students ages 18 to 22, 49.0% drank alcohol and 28.9% engaged in binge drinking in the past month that the study was conducted.
There is also no shortage of places to drink. Whether it’s at a fraternity house, dormitory, or in some random person’s basement, it happens. However, the issue is what occurs as a result of intoxication. It seems like every single weekend there’s an incident where alcohol was involved. Someone got hurt or someone drank too much.
UMaine has an amnesty policy, which encourages students to utilize the ambulatory services in emergencies without the worry of repercussions. However, UMaine could do more. I think increasing awareness of alcohol poisoning might slightly improve the number of incidents, but it won’t solve the issue. There are resources that UMaine can make more available, such as cup covers.
The most recent statistics from the National Institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (NIAAA) estimate that about 1,519 college students ages 18 to 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. The most recent NIAAA statistics estimate that about 696,000 students ages 18 to 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
Drinking also greatly influences your performance in school. In a national survey, college students who binge drank alcohol at least three times per week were roughly six times more likely to perform poorly on a test or project as a result of drinking (40% vs. 7%) than students who drank but never binged. The students who binge drank were also five times more likely to have missed a class (64% vs. 12%).
Unfortunately, this issue is in the hands of the students who drink. They need more information and resources- helpful tips on how to safely partake (as abstaining from overconsumption is difficult, but not impossible), what to do if someone gets hurt, or drinks too much and how to ensure that you’re not consuming too much or that your drink hasn’t been spiked.
