The effects of binge drinking

on college students
By Unika Boyce-Cooley
Uwrt 1101
8, November, 2016

Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. Short fictional Poem
3. The facts of binge drinking
4. Are you really thinking?
5. Progression of liver damage
6. Warnings about drinking and your
liver
7. Who drinks the most?
8. Conclusion
9. Notes
10. References

Partying has been a common pastime for college students

enjoying their new, free environment. For some, partying could
just be a bonfire with a few close friends while others are more
into alcohol, huge house parties, and club hopping. This could
be fun, for a while, until the partying experience starts to gain up
on them. According to the National Council On Alcohol And
Drug Dependence (NCADD), about 25 percent of college
students report academic consequences of their drinking
including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams
or papers, and receiving lower grades overall, and more than
150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem
(Wilcox).They avoid the right crowd of friends, end up wasting
money on club admittance, and procrastination becomes a habit.
The work starts to pile up and students start to wonder where the
time went. I believe partying has a profound effect on a
students psyche, affecting their wellbeing, academics, and
social environment.

I went out
By Unika Boyce-Cooley

I went out Thursday night with my friends Rachel, Sam, & Raya
We got smooth talked by a guy in the club line, claiming to be a real
playa
He got kicked out because he couldnt handle his liquor
He yelled for my number but all I could give him was a snicker
I went out Friday night with my pals Joe, Jack, & Steve
When we got to the party it was 10 to get in unless we had some weed
So we went round the corner to find us a plug
We just wanted the hook up on some really good bud
I went out Saturday night with my girls Jenai, Faith, & Amia
We went to a house party to steal us some tequila
Faith threw up in the bathroom it was a pretty funny sight
I know were going to be laughing for the rest of the night
I did not go out Sunday night with my friends Courtney, Jada, & Piper
I had math homework to decipher
Im sure Ill be up until the crack of dawn
Drinking five cups of coffee just to hold on

Are you really thinking?

About 1 in 4 college students report academic consequences from drinking, including
missing class, falling behind in class, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower
grades overall.( College Drinking Fact Sheet )

Alcohol can affect brain development, causing youth to make irresponsible decisions,
encounter memory lapses, or process and send neural impulses more slowly. (Wilcox)

Young drinkers are able to consume much larger amounts of alcohol than adults (17)
before experiencing the negative consequences of drinking, such as drowsiness, lack of
coordination, and withdrawal/hangover effects (18,19). This unusual tolerance may help to
explain the high rates of binge drinking among young adults. At the same time, adolescents
appear to be particularly sensitive to the positive effects of drinking, such as feeling more at
ease in social situations.(College Drinking Fact Sheet)

Who is drinking the most?

Where does it occur?

Greek and Sorority houses

Athletes
(Eastman)

Off campus parties/party goers

The takeaway
While drinking and partying is fun, we must keep in mind why we came to college in
the first place. Academics should be our first priority along with taking care of
yourself. Binge drinking causes lapse in judgement, poor academic performance, and
has health consequence down the road if it is a continual habit. A way to fix this is to
drink in moderation or to completely stop drinking.

Notes
Genre I: I chose a fictional poem as my first genre to bring in a comedic perspective of a student.
Students do not seem to realize the issue with binge drinking and I feel that my poem reflects that.
My audience for this specific genre is young adults between the ages of 17-24. Once they read it, I
feel like it would bring them back to a specific memory of when they had one too many.

Transition I: My first transition gives direct facts about binge drinking that my other genres do not.
It is a transition into the more serious consequences of binge drinking. My audience for this is all
ages. Everyone should know what binge drinking is and how it affects people.

Genre II: My second genre was a flow chart I made, leading to a brain. I feel like when people see
straight facts about something serious the audience sees it in a more negative light. The audience for
this genre is for all ages because there are more important facts about binge drinking, especially when
it involves academics.

Transition II: This transition gives way to the health aspect of my genres which focuses on the
liver. Its showing the stages of liver damage that can occur through episodes of binge drinking. The
audience for this transition is anyone who is drinking. The should reflect on how much they are
drinking and if it is affecting their health in any way.

Genre III: My third genre is a poster I made, including facts about binge episodes in college

students. I used this poster as a way to persuade the audience to think about what could happen to
their liver if they are not careful with their drinking. The targeted audience for this are college
students who drink or people who continuously drink despite knowing the harmful consequences.

Genre IV: My last genre is a visual based on sized. Using the research I obtained from The Student
Perspective On College Drinking, I picked out who drinks the most and where the drinking occurs. I
used the Duff beer image as a comical relief from the seriousness of other parts of the paper. I think
this genre will make people more aware about certain stereotypes in college about who drinks. This
genre is intended for an audience who know the beer from the simpsons as well as people who are
curious about where drinking occurs in college.

References
Boyd, Gayle M. et al. Alcohol Problems among Adolescents: Current Directions in Prevention
Research. Hillsdale, NJ , L. Erlbaum Associates, 1995.
College Drinking Fact Sheet - Pubs.niaaa.nih.gov.
pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/collegefactsheet/collegefactsheet.pdf.
Eastman, Peggy. The Student Perspective On College Drinking.
www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/media/journal/cdp_the_student_perspective_on_college_drinkin
g_release.pdf.
Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2015, www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm.
Wilcox, Stephen. Underage and College Drinking. Underage and College Drinking,
www.ncadd.org/about-addiction/underage-issues/underage-and-college-drinking.
Chart on binge drinking:
http://cdn-img.choices.scholastic.com/sites/default/files/u9/BingeDrinkingInfographic.png
Graphic on liver damage:
http://www.gcgastro.com.au/images/pictures/large/old-website/The%20Liver%20Centre/Alcoholic%
20Liver%20Disease/Alcohol-Stages.jpg
Duff beer image: http://cliparts.co/cliparts/kiM/bL6/kiMbL6nrT.png
Image of three students drinking on title page:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/27/16/28115FFD00000578-3057670-Teenagers_that_regularly_
drink_alcohol_could_be_doing_irreparabl-a-4_1430148847945.jpg
Girl on bar on conclusion page:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hen_party_in_San_Francisco,_USA-1Aug2010.jpg
Liquor on conclusion page: https://pixabay.com/en/photos/liquor/