“It’s not alcoholism until we graduate.”
It’s one of those sheepish, shrugging old excuses that everyone’s heard, like, “My diet starts tomorrow,” and “I’m not religious but I’m spiritual.” It’s a Band-Aid, the gateway to Community Standards-mandated Alcohol Counseling. Still, we might be drinking ourselves into an even deeper sense of denial than we realize. Even though we might never measure up to that “state school tolerance” myth that visiting students like to throw around, the Fighting Irish, and Millennials as a generation, give the world a run for their money when it comes to booze.
It might interest everyone to know that “excessive drinking” is not a relative term. Yes, we’ve all known that one guy who has shotgunned 40 beers at a darty and then poured 10 down his pants. We’ve thought to ourselves, “At least I’m not as bad as that guy.”
Seeing someone on a shame spiral does not mean our average binge drinking is okay by comparison. According to the Center for Disease Control (because alcoholism is apparently a disease), a woman is considered a “heavy drinker” if she has eight or more drinks a week. A man is considered excessive once he’s reached 14 (1).
Remember, every shot counts, not every mixed drink. I know, I was shocked, too. Seeing as most people I’ve come into contact with at ND get close to that number, before noon on a football game day, one can see how our generation might be showing a dangerous trend.
Still, that’s just the city block on our road to rehab. Not only are we drinking more than the collegiate crowd that came before us, we’re also drinking differently. In the days of old and Animal House, beer was generally the drink of choice. And while you can still find some Natty Light enthusiasts at every dorm party, the vast majority of Millennials are making a move away from beer and towards wine and hard liquor.
In the early ‘90s, it was reported that nearly 75% of youths age 18-29 preferred beer to all other alcoholic beverages. Now, 20 years later, that number has dropped to a mere 40% (2). However, we drink more wine than any other age group. (Wine moms everywhere really thought this year would be their year. Maybe next time, Sharon from book club.)
Also, Millennials are seriously affecting the popularity of different hard “spirits.” The vodka industry alone has benefited hugely from a spike in Millennial attention, but it turns out that our preferences are pretty split, with over 20% of Millennials claiming that they drink vodka, whiskey, rum and tequila fairly evenly (3). If we try hard enough, we might even bring gin back from its reputation as an old person drink that tastes like pine trees and regret.
So, why should we care? It would be hypocritical of any college student to advise other college students to stop drinking. But we might want to consider the affects of being constantly and heavily under the influence. It might behoove some of us to consider the long-term affects that four years of binge drinking may have. Our constant contribution to the future of the beverage industry could provide promising career opportunities for all of us. Still, think of your liver the next time you’re reaching for that tenth shot, and perhaps think again.
I mean, you’re technically safe for now, but be careful. Death by alcohol is the most common in middle-aged adults (4). You might want to ease up while you’re ahead.
The HCND application is now open! For more information contact Rebecca Rogalski at rrogalsk@nd.edu or Katrina Linden at klinden1@nd.edu.