If Jesus turned water into wine, I say drink it, along with the holy spirits, and hell, beer too. Your drink says a lot about you, and it affects your health obviously, so there are a few things to consider before you make a liquor store run or take out cash for the bar. The first — are you 21 years old?

Obviously, people are going to drink before their 21st birthday, but I would like to offer that one, it is illegal, and two, I do not condone it, nor encourage it.

“Excessive alcohol consumption contributes to more than 4,300 deaths among underage youth, that is, persons less than 21 years of age, in the United States each year,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just as “drink” for thought.

When you are old enough to consume alcohol, consider the cost. Alcohol is not necessary, so the expense is almost trivial. For those on a budget, do not be afraid to ask the local bartenders about drink specials, or liquor store/beer distributor employees about sales on your favorite beverages.
They are used to these questions and are there to help, plus, the worst thing they can say is, “No.” The average college student pays $900 a year for alcohol and spends about half that on books, according to an article from the University of Pennsylvania.

Prioritize before you drink — if you really cannot afford dollar drafts, you probably should not be drinking. Anyway, later you will probably end up at Sheetz spending money on an appetizer sampler or the ever-tempting burrito truck, furthering your continually growing mound of college debt.
Which brings me to my next point: Have you eaten before you plan to drink?

“Drinking on an empty stomach makes you drunk faster,” The New York Times reported in a 2005 health article. Which is fine, if you are taking it easy. However, I have observed that college students have a tendency to binge-drink, which leads to blackouts; then in the case of fragmented memory, block-outs.

Fortunately for college students, most reported binge-drinking episodes — 70 percent — involve adults over age 26, the CDC reported. However, even if the drink is not so expensive, too many alcoholic drinks cost the U.S. $223.5 billion, (about $1.90 per drink,) for health care, crime, loss of productivity and other expenses in 2006, the CDC also reported. Can you afford that bottle of Ciroc? Sure, but an ambulance ride at the bottom of the bottle and that hangover that causes the call-out from work are pretty sure to empty out your wallet.

There are plenty more tips I can offer about alcohol supported by a long list of mistakes I have observed. The fact is that as students, we probably drink because we are bored and poor. Alcohol makes people feel better and forget the dismal spot in which they are stuck.

If you drink, do not depend on it. Alcohol is relatively cheap; alcoholism is devastating.

For more Opinions about alcohol, follow @cassclarhaut on Twitter

Share