The ABCs of College Drinking... 25 tips for navigating the collegiate party scene

By James Matthews

College life presents many challenges, in particular choices about drinking. Here are 25 tips for students facing the college party scene. Although abstinence is always the safest choice, most students drink. So, it is critical to have concrete, meaningful information about drinking. Here is that information about how to enjoy an active social life and avoid the problems of dangerous drinking.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Matthews
• Release date: Jul 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466066496

Book preview

The ABCs of College Drinking

25 tips for navigating the collegiate party scene

By Jim Matthews, M.Ed.

Published by James Matthews at Smashwords

Copyright 2007 by James Matthews

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the author.

Dedicated to all college students.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Tip 1 Academics

Tip 2 Alcohol

Tip 3 Alcohol Poisoning

Tip 4 Blackouts

Tip 5 Blood Alcohol Level

Tip 6 Drinking Games

Tip 7 Drinks

Tip 8 Driving Under the Influence

Tip 9 Drugs

Tip 10 Greeks

Tip 11 HALT

Tip 12 Hangovers

Tip 13 Know the Code

Tip 14 Low Risk Drinking

Tip 15 Marijuana

Tip 16 Party Strategies

Tip 17 Pre-Partying

Tip 18 Problem Drinking

Tip 19 Refusal Skills

Tip 20 Sex

Tip 21 Sexual Assault

Tip 22 Student Athletes

Tip 23 Tolerance

Tip 24 Vomiting

Tip 25 Women

Identifying Alcohol Problems

Athletics Evaluation

Blood Alcohol Level

About Jim Matthews, M.Ed.

Introduction

On most college campuses, there are numerous programs offering alcohol and other drug education and abuse prevention information. More often than not these programs are presented in the residence halls, the student union, the athletic center and in the classrooms. Other information can usually be found online, in the library or through the campus health center. Most of these programs offer valuable information to assist students in dealing with the challenges associated with alcohol consumption. I urge all of you to take advantage of these opportunities.

In the meantime some of your most immediate and critical questions regarding campus alcohol issues may be answered here. The questions listed in this book were asked during conversations with students as well as through letters and e-mails. Some have been edited for brevity however most are verbatim. For most questions, permission was granted by the students to use their names and campus affiliations. When requested, the questioner remained anonymous.

Throughout the past twenty years I have had the wonderfully rewarding opportunity to interact with high school and college students and their parents: on campuses around the country while conducting educational programs and presentations, in the classroom while teaching courses dealing with chemical dependency, and behind closed doors while counseling students about their alcohol or other drug concerns. Regrettably, most of the students I have talked with have had only limited information about alcohol and how to drink in a low risk manner. Constructive and effective alcohol education seems to be sorely lacking in our primary and secondary schools. As a result, students arrive in college with little or no accurate information about consuming alcohol, in particular, if they choose to drink - how to do it and minimize the risk for drinking problems. Just say NO is appropriate for junior high school students but as they move into high school and on to college Just say KNOW seems more appropriate.

Intentionally, this book does not deal with the longer-term issues associated with drinking such as addiction, health problems or family/relationship concerns. It was written to address the immediate alcohol concerns of students and to provide them with the essential information they need if they choose to drink. For a more in-depth look at college drinking issues, take a look at my first book Beer, Booze and Books…a sober look at higher education.

Return to Table of Contents

Tip 1: Academics

I have friends who party all the time, or at least it seems that way, and they still get great grades. What’s the deal?

Jonas L., U Mass, Junior

I usually drink just Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I keep up with all my schoolwork and have fairly decent grades. I never drink in the mornings or alone or any of that alcoholic stuff