It gives us motivation, it keeps us going through good times and bad, it provides us with a reason to celebrate and it is always just a little bit too expensive.
Alcohol is the college student's gasoline.
Just like our more productive members of society who always need to save money to pay for gas, college students are always sure to have enough money for a weekend's worth of booze. Not every college student drinks alcohol, but not everyone relies on gas. That is what bikes, electricity and running shoes are for.
Alcohol is the college student's savior. It helps us celebrate following a solid performance on an exam, project, lab report or paper. But it is also there for us when we need to feel better following an equally poor performance. Alcohol lets you step outside your normal comfort zone in good ways. You may never bust out "Sweet Child O' Mine" at karaoke sober, but after a few gin and tonics you will be the reincarnation of Axl Rose himself. It might be embarrassing in the afterthought, but you had the time of your life when you took center stage.
Now, some of you may argue that coffee is the real gasoline of the college student, but let me explain why it is not. While it may give you energy in the morning or help you stay up that extra hour to study, coffee doesn't compare to all the bonuses of alcohol. When you finish up an exam or a rough week of schoolwork, you don't sit back with a hot cup of coffee to celebrate. No, you break out something special. And by special, I do not mean Keystone or Natty Light, and definitely not a hard alcohol that comes in a plastic bottle. I am talking like a decent six or 12 pack; I may go with Newcastle or a Sam Adams variety pack. If I'm looking to really celebrate, I'm going with Wild Turkey bourbon, because there is no way anything bad could possibly happen.
Some students may see a fun-filled alcohol weekend as motivation to get one's work done ahead of time. It may not be the best method, but let's face it, no student becomes motivated by thinking, "If I finish this research paper by Thursday afternoon I'm going to drink so much coffee this weekend!" And lastly, what do people put in coffee to make it even better? Bailey's Irish Cream. Enough said.
If you claim that energy drinks are the true gasoline of the college student, let me ask you a question: Have you ever heard of a Jagerbomb or a Red Bull and vodka? Vodka might be my least favorite of all hard alcohols, but it makes Red Bull that much better. Before I go on, I should probably explain why vodka is my least favorite alcohol. Other than a White Russian or a screwdriver, I do not think vodka has much to offer. It definitely doesn't make you any cooler like the other major hard alcohols.
For example, whiskey, while also a favorite drink of the Irish, is the true American drink. After a lot of whiskey, you will only lose arguments to people who have drunk more whiskey than you, and you will also believe that you are better than everyone else. Whiskey was the drink of the American cowboys and on top of that, bourbons, a type of whiskey, must be made in America and nowhere else. If you drink bourbon, you are directly contributing to the American economy. Gin was a common drink among old blues musicians, and there is arguably no one more badass then an old blues musician. Last, but certainly not least, rum makes you feel like a pirate.
Alcohol doesn't give humanity a bad name; rather, a select percentage of our population gives alcohol a bad name. People who drink irresponsibly take away from all the best parts of alcohol: the fun times and the memories it helps provide. It is no secret that college students drink, and it is actually pretty acceptable when done correctly.
If you need any more proof of why alcohol is the gasoline of the college student, think of this: How many times have you woken up, head pounding, mouth and throat dry, stomach hurting and you promise to never do that again? Yet the next night you are back at it because you remember you had the time of your life the night before.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Showing posts with label drinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drinking. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Foster's: Does UNH Have a Drinking Problem? Me: No
DURHAM — Beat the clock, kick the keg, knotty trivia, wheel o'deals. If you're a UNH student over 21, your Facebook inbox has probably seen these messages from the four bars on Main Street, advertising daily drinking specials that sound more like games. While the catchy titles and low drink prices do their job in attracting customers, some, such as Durham Police Chief Dave Kurz, are concerned that students are drinking more than ever. "Three years ago, the drink special at every bar was three dollars, for a beer or a well drink," said Ryan Wambolt, owner of The Knot Irish Pub... Wambolt has owned The Knot for the last six years and said that the daily drink specials are a recent trend... Joanne Stella, Legal Services Attorney at UNH, acknowledged a recent trend of hard alcohol consumption, calling it dangerous. In the past, she said the university has seen similar cycles with other risky "fads" such as students at fraternities purposely drinking to the point of throwing up... Kurz has a sense that students' interest in getting "hammered" is becoming the norm over more casual drinking, and the students he speaks with seem to share his opinion. "When I say this to students, I can see nods in agreement as if they have the same understanding," Kurz said in an email. "Routinely we encounter highly intoxicated folks, but the incidents seem higher than past years. More calls for ambulances for 'ETOH,' the code for alcohol poisoning, only serve to affirm my hunch." "I agree," said UNH Police Chief Paul Dean. "We are seeing more intoxicated people and more use of prescription drug abuse with alcohol. They are all good people who are making poor choices." "The difference now is that everyone is getting drunk earlier," Wambolt said. "All the bar specials pretty much end at 11 [p.m.], so people are milling around Main Street because it's too early to go home."
A few days ago, Fosters ran this article (click the link for the entire, uncut piece) and I just wanted to post some of my reactions to it. First of all, no, UNH does not have a drinking problem, it's just a college town in New Hampshire. I don't have any hard facts in front of me, but I would like to offer a few opinions to this piece. First of all, this article only speaks of the bar scene in Durham. Not too long ago, but before our seniors were enrolled, UNH was considered one of the top party schools in the country. Then, with a combined effort of the UNH administration, housing, residential life, and the UNH and Durham PD, UNH parties became less and less of a problem for the authorities. Now, there are still awesome parties any given Thursday through Saturday night at UNH, but it is not what it used to be. Around the same time UNH began cracking down on parties (about 6 years ago) the bar scene started offering more specials and the 21+ crowds began flocking downtown on party nights. The bars are open until 1AM and it's completely legal partying. Scorps and Libby's have dance floors and you don't have to worry about "accidentally" hooking up with a freshman. Sure, the bar crowds are on the rise, but the party scene is on the decline.
Secondly, this is not a problem limited to UNH. I read my dad part of the article and he cut me off saying, "UNH doesn't have a drinking problem. College has a drinking problem." He's right. I may not call it a problem, but this isn't some significant event only occurring at UNH, but at universities across the country. Heck, I believe the University of Wisconsin has something like two bars in it's student center. What do you think kids do at colleges in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest? At least we have the beaches, mountains and lakes nearby and some decent off campus places like downtown Portsmouth and even Boston isn't too far away.
Also, I wouldn't call "hard alcohol" a fad. Personally, I buy hard alcohol because $20 of it lasts much longer than $20 worth of beer. And I like whiskey. On that topic, if fraternities were "purposely drinking until the point of throwing up," I believe that is called hazing because no one in their right mind would actually want to do that. That is not a cool, hip "fad" that is the upperclassmen being pricks to the pledges.
Another thing that strikes me as odd is that the bar owners and police admit to having to call more ambulances for alcohol poisoning than in years past. But with an increased bar population, wouldn't that be expected? The more people you have drinking, the greater chance that someone will need help. I have no idea if these two numbers are proportional or not, but it does at least raise the question. Also, I think people have become more aware of the dangers of alcohol as of late and are more likely to call for help, especially in a public area, as opposed to the privacy of your dorm, house or apartment. Calling an ambulance isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if it really is needed. Many people get away with puking all night and passing out in the bathroom, but many of those occasions would also be suitable for an ambulance ride.
In short, I don't think that UNH has a new drinking problem. For decades binge drinking has been commonplace at colleges, but it is just becoming more visible. Honestly, things have probably settled down in recent years, but the crowds are moving from apartments to the bars downtown where there is more supervision (in the form of police, bouncers and bartenders) to crack down.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
A few days ago, Fosters ran this article (click the link for the entire, uncut piece) and I just wanted to post some of my reactions to it. First of all, no, UNH does not have a drinking problem, it's just a college town in New Hampshire. I don't have any hard facts in front of me, but I would like to offer a few opinions to this piece. First of all, this article only speaks of the bar scene in Durham. Not too long ago, but before our seniors were enrolled, UNH was considered one of the top party schools in the country. Then, with a combined effort of the UNH administration, housing, residential life, and the UNH and Durham PD, UNH parties became less and less of a problem for the authorities. Now, there are still awesome parties any given Thursday through Saturday night at UNH, but it is not what it used to be. Around the same time UNH began cracking down on parties (about 6 years ago) the bar scene started offering more specials and the 21+ crowds began flocking downtown on party nights. The bars are open until 1AM and it's completely legal partying. Scorps and Libby's have dance floors and you don't have to worry about "accidentally" hooking up with a freshman. Sure, the bar crowds are on the rise, but the party scene is on the decline.
Secondly, this is not a problem limited to UNH. I read my dad part of the article and he cut me off saying, "UNH doesn't have a drinking problem. College has a drinking problem." He's right. I may not call it a problem, but this isn't some significant event only occurring at UNH, but at universities across the country. Heck, I believe the University of Wisconsin has something like two bars in it's student center. What do you think kids do at colleges in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest? At least we have the beaches, mountains and lakes nearby and some decent off campus places like downtown Portsmouth and even Boston isn't too far away.
Also, I wouldn't call "hard alcohol" a fad. Personally, I buy hard alcohol because $20 of it lasts much longer than $20 worth of beer. And I like whiskey. On that topic, if fraternities were "purposely drinking until the point of throwing up," I believe that is called hazing because no one in their right mind would actually want to do that. That is not a cool, hip "fad" that is the upperclassmen being pricks to the pledges.
Another thing that strikes me as odd is that the bar owners and police admit to having to call more ambulances for alcohol poisoning than in years past. But with an increased bar population, wouldn't that be expected? The more people you have drinking, the greater chance that someone will need help. I have no idea if these two numbers are proportional or not, but it does at least raise the question. Also, I think people have become more aware of the dangers of alcohol as of late and are more likely to call for help, especially in a public area, as opposed to the privacy of your dorm, house or apartment. Calling an ambulance isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if it really is needed. Many people get away with puking all night and passing out in the bathroom, but many of those occasions would also be suitable for an ambulance ride.
In short, I don't think that UNH has a new drinking problem. For decades binge drinking has been commonplace at colleges, but it is just becoming more visible. Honestly, things have probably settled down in recent years, but the crowds are moving from apartments to the bars downtown where there is more supervision (in the form of police, bouncers and bartenders) to crack down.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Friday, March 25, 2011
STAN has been busy!
Hello again Wildcat Nation!
My sincerest apologies for the extended hiatus on my international posts. Mother Nature has been trying to sink the part of the world I'm in so I've been a little distracted.
What I want to do with this post is to sort of bring you all up to date on what I've been doing while giving a taste of what Australian college life is all about. But first just one more thing on my absense from the blog. The New Hampshirite's posts have been quite important and I figured I shouldn't really post immediately after t hem just to make sure that you are all absorbing the message that that s.o.b. is trying to get across. Now that I have left a reasonable amount of time in between that dick's morally sound posts and my not so much moral crap, I feel no shame in filling you in on the silliness that has been my Aussie life.
Where to begin? I suppose orientation week (o-week for those who can't pronounce big words). Orientation here is not at all what it is at UNH. Almost every single day the older residents of my dorm, or the "fossils", would hold some sort of drinking activity for everyone 18 and older to enjoy. Granted "fossils" are mostly younger than me because this is my first year at James Cook University so I got labelled as a freshman. Whatever. Free booze! This is how o-week went. Monday: toga party. Tuesday: fossil-fresher meet and greet, with a lot of alcohol. Wednesday: sports day with an alcoholic finale. Thursday: keg party. Friday: pub crawl. And then we got the weekend to do whatever we wanted to. One hell of a week let me tell YOU!
Then classes started which actually hasn't stemmed the flow of drinking at all because Tuesday is a big party night as well as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Also my classes never assign work to do which leaves me a lot of time to screw around. For example, asking Australians to say "squirrel" is the funniest thing ever! Their accent just does not allow them to spit it out without them sounding like they have a serious speech disorder.
Another way to keep myself occupied is to investigate the Australia stereotypes. This is what I have discovered so far.
KANGAROOS! Believe the hype! They actually are all over the place here! Unfortunately, they are not big enough or cooperative enough to ride around. I tried.
I am devasted to report that Australian toilets do NOT spin the other way. Something I was looking forward to seeing. Disappointing to say the least.
G'day mate! They really do say it! Makes me feel like I'm in a Crocodile Dundee movie! Except nobody carries a knife and the only leather pants you see are ass-less... moving right along...
Vegemite is disgusting. Do not believe anyone that tells you it's good. It's basically brown salt paste that tastes like dried sea-weed and sticks to your teeth so you have to taste it all day. Avoid at-all-costs.
Here's the biggest shocker that is actually not a big shock. Australians never ever put shrimp on the barby. Probably the fault of Americans. Well done everyone!
Now I can't not talk about drinking games!!!
From what I noticed, the only game that the Australians played was circle of death. Otherwise known as King's Cup. Needless to say the Americans (mostly me) felt obligated to teach them how to play beer pong/beirut (I call it whatever gets it going faster). However, the Aussies seem pretty universally surprised to hear that we actually use the "red cups" that they see in movies. They don't have em here. I DO feel the need to give them credit on a few "games" that they have taught us. They are played throughout the course of the entire night and losing requires you to FINISH your drink on the spot. I'm not going to say what they are because that will ruin the fun for me when I get home and want to get the New Hampshirite and my other roommates completely blitzed!
So all in all I suppose I'm trying to say that I'm having a wonderful time representing USA and UNH and Nonsensical HQ in the land down under.
From now on I'll try my best to post more often so that the posts have more of a central theme. That is unless another dorm-sponsored pub crawl with a charter bus taking us to reach bar gets anounced. In that case it might be a while :)
Stay Classy. AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!
PS Australians don't know what Reese's cups are. wtf?
My sincerest apologies for the extended hiatus on my international posts. Mother Nature has been trying to sink the part of the world I'm in so I've been a little distracted.
What I want to do with this post is to sort of bring you all up to date on what I've been doing while giving a taste of what Australian college life is all about. But first just one more thing on my absense from the blog. The New Hampshirite's posts have been quite important and I figured I shouldn't really post immediately after t hem just to make sure that you are all absorbing the message that that s.o.b. is trying to get across. Now that I have left a reasonable amount of time in between that dick's morally sound posts and my not so much moral crap, I feel no shame in filling you in on the silliness that has been my Aussie life.
Where to begin? I suppose orientation week (o-week for those who can't pronounce big words). Orientation here is not at all what it is at UNH. Almost every single day the older residents of my dorm, or the "fossils", would hold some sort of drinking activity for everyone 18 and older to enjoy. Granted "fossils" are mostly younger than me because this is my first year at James Cook University so I got labelled as a freshman. Whatever. Free booze! This is how o-week went. Monday: toga party. Tuesday: fossil-fresher meet and greet, with a lot of alcohol. Wednesday: sports day with an alcoholic finale. Thursday: keg party. Friday: pub crawl. And then we got the weekend to do whatever we wanted to. One hell of a week let me tell YOU!
Then classes started which actually hasn't stemmed the flow of drinking at all because Tuesday is a big party night as well as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Also my classes never assign work to do which leaves me a lot of time to screw around. For example, asking Australians to say "squirrel" is the funniest thing ever! Their accent just does not allow them to spit it out without them sounding like they have a serious speech disorder.
Another way to keep myself occupied is to investigate the Australia stereotypes. This is what I have discovered so far.
KANGAROOS! Believe the hype! They actually are all over the place here! Unfortunately, they are not big enough or cooperative enough to ride around. I tried.
I am devasted to report that Australian toilets do NOT spin the other way. Something I was looking forward to seeing. Disappointing to say the least.
G'day mate! They really do say it! Makes me feel like I'm in a Crocodile Dundee movie! Except nobody carries a knife and the only leather pants you see are ass-less... moving right along...
Vegemite is disgusting. Do not believe anyone that tells you it's good. It's basically brown salt paste that tastes like dried sea-weed and sticks to your teeth so you have to taste it all day. Avoid at-all-costs.
Here's the biggest shocker that is actually not a big shock. Australians never ever put shrimp on the barby. Probably the fault of Americans. Well done everyone!
Now I can't not talk about drinking games!!!
From what I noticed, the only game that the Australians played was circle of death. Otherwise known as King's Cup. Needless to say the Americans (mostly me) felt obligated to teach them how to play beer pong/beirut (I call it whatever gets it going faster). However, the Aussies seem pretty universally surprised to hear that we actually use the "red cups" that they see in movies. They don't have em here. I DO feel the need to give them credit on a few "games" that they have taught us. They are played throughout the course of the entire night and losing requires you to FINISH your drink on the spot. I'm not going to say what they are because that will ruin the fun for me when I get home and want to get the New Hampshirite and my other roommates completely blitzed!
So all in all I suppose I'm trying to say that I'm having a wonderful time representing USA and UNH and Nonsensical HQ in the land down under.
From now on I'll try my best to post more often so that the posts have more of a central theme. That is unless another dorm-sponsored pub crawl with a charter bus taking us to reach bar gets anounced. In that case it might be a while :)
Stay Classy. AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!
PS Australians don't know what Reese's cups are. wtf?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Drinking Time: A Marathon or a Sprint?
Last semester I shared a story about a roommate "Stan" being chased across A-Lot by a crazed redneck with a crossbow. Or at least he thought so in his drunken stage. Just a few days into the semester and the ante has already been upped. This time it was a friend from down the hall accusing that the zombie sounds the sounds she heard from my roommate's computer game are actually from a monster hiding under his desk. She went as far as dragging all of his stuff in front of the desk to "block it off and trap the monster."
Now, I have been intoxicated to the highest levels, but I don't ever recall imagining things like that. Is it a part of someone's personal psychology or somehow tapping into their subconscious in a drunken state that causes these minor "hallucinations" to appear, or have I simply never been that drunk? Alcohol does funny things to people and it does affect different people in different ways. Maybe I've just gradually increased my tolerance over the past few years to a level where it never affected me in that way. I kind of hope that is not the case because it would be A) depressing and B) cost way too much money. Being a heavyweight probably gets expensive. I'm not claiming to be heavyweight, but I can confidently say I'm not a lightweight.
Then again, I'd rather be at a comfortable drunk for a long time then getting blitzed, blacking out and having a killer hangover for the next day. I see a night of drinking as a marathon, not a sprint. What do other people think, am I on my own here? Have other people ever experienced strangely realistic fears or are my friends simply permanently whacked out of their mind? (Maybe a poor word choice, I might have to pay for that one later.) Some people treat drinking as a sprint and there have been nights in the past (weekend) where I have definitely sprinted, but there is nothing better than a long marathon into the wee hours of the morning with good music and good friends. And as always, a camera is always necessary.
Stay classy, not UMassy.
Now, I have been intoxicated to the highest levels, but I don't ever recall imagining things like that. Is it a part of someone's personal psychology or somehow tapping into their subconscious in a drunken state that causes these minor "hallucinations" to appear, or have I simply never been that drunk? Alcohol does funny things to people and it does affect different people in different ways. Maybe I've just gradually increased my tolerance over the past few years to a level where it never affected me in that way. I kind of hope that is not the case because it would be A) depressing and B) cost way too much money. Being a heavyweight probably gets expensive. I'm not claiming to be heavyweight, but I can confidently say I'm not a lightweight.
Then again, I'd rather be at a comfortable drunk for a long time then getting blitzed, blacking out and having a killer hangover for the next day. I see a night of drinking as a marathon, not a sprint. What do other people think, am I on my own here? Have other people ever experienced strangely realistic fears or are my friends simply permanently whacked out of their mind? (Maybe a poor word choice, I might have to pay for that one later.) Some people treat drinking as a sprint and there have been nights in the past (weekend) where I have definitely sprinted, but there is nothing better than a long marathon into the wee hours of the morning with good music and good friends. And as always, a camera is always necessary.
Milk does a body good.
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