College drinking, parties overstated

“Take away the academics, and what you’ve got is onebig party over the span of four years. Superb!”

I read that on the op-ed page of The Daily Campus Tuesdayedition.

Ann Truong was perhaps mildly correct in her column on theoverrated emphasis on higher education. My parents, who did notgraduate from college, can testify to that.

However, the perspective that college is one massive partyoccasionally interrupted by an exam or a quiz is one that has beenblown completely out of proportion, especially when it comes toalcohol consumption on campus.

According to a survey conducted with the help of SMU’sMemorial Clinic, findings indicate that student perceptions oncampus alcohol consumption on average are at least 51 percent. Inother words, those who took the survey believe that a majority ofstudents have at least a couple drinks per week. The sameperceptions go for binge drinking, measured from about four to fivedrinks or more in one sitting.

However, the same study concluded that on average, only about athird of students drink regularly or excessively, a percentagerelatively far from majority.

Granted, SMU’s numbers are still high compared to othercampuses in Texas. Factors such as geography, private versus publicuniversity, average family income, and students who are 21 years orolder tend to skew results slightly. A fellow reporting studentonce said that it’s easier to get to a liquor store than to achurch around here.

But overall, the majority of students that attend SMU do notdrink, and the health center’s ad campaign is looking tochange those perspectives so that students won’t feelsocially pressured to consume alcohol.

“By the end of each week, we’re begging to unlearneverything that we learned that week with the help of ProfessorJack Daniels,” Truong writes.

True, academic pressures are an obstacle. I can agree that someprofessors (I seem to have at least two or three every semesterlike this) feel that the subject they teach trumps every otherpossible issue in existence.

Such professors assign impossible amounts of reading fromnumerous textbooks and online sources as well as require dailywriting reports or two to three page homework assignments due everyclass session.

Some professors enjoy adding to the load by not only assigningpapers and reports, but ALSO exams. Not a good combination,especially for journalism students.

These professors tend to forget that other classes andobligations demand out attention.

But that’s life. Welcome to the world. Work, family, andother social agendas are going to come up. And we can either chooseto face the music or run and hide behind an addiction, hopingthings will just solve themselves on their own.

No one in the world (let alone on a college campus) can professthat he or she has not fallen on hard times or come againstdifficulties that seemed impossible.

But some of us tend to believe that whatever life throws ourway, it’s for a purpose and it will never be anything beyondour capabilities to conquer, either on our own or in the company ofclose friends.

I’ll admit, I turn 21 this month. And I’ll admitfrom personal experience that academic and other pressures can besomewhat daunting at times.

But on Feb. 23, I will not only celebrate 21 years of living,but 21 years of surviving what has been thrown my way, 21 years ofwounds that have healed, 21 years of sorrows that have becomelessons, 21 years of joy in the people and things I love.

And in that celebration, in the company of friends and family,not a drop of alcohol will flow.

Some of us choose to live life, not escape it.

Christine Dao is a junior journalism major. She may be reachedat [email protected].