Though many students enjoy social drinking, there are many risks and factors that may be associated with drinking in excess.
In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 90 percent of the alcohol consumed by people under the age of 21 in the U.S. is in the form of binge drinking.
Kim Rowe, a first-year MBA student from Miami, said she witnessed her friends binge drinking and worried about their well-being.
“I have had a couple of friends that I had to take care of, and thank God I was there for them because who knows where they'd end up had I not been around,” Rowe said.
Losing focus on academics, being at risk of rape and injury, alcohol poisoning, pregnancy, high blood pressure, and possible DUI are some risk factors that come along with binge drinking.
Janet Marshall, an associate professor of nursing at Florida A&M University, said she noticed that the effects can be devastating after working with patients who binge drink.
“Binge drinking can affect families, and their job,” Marshall said. “One might end up incarcerated, and for nursing, it might keep you from getting your license.”
According to drinkaware, there are reproductive risk factors for women who binge drink, including miscarriages.
The site adds that women are not the only people who should worry about the harmful effects of alcohol. Alcohol has the potential to stop the liver from producing vitamin A, a very important entity in sperm development, and plays a major factor in the movement and structure of sperm.
A surplus of alcohol may also have drastic effects on the brain. Some regions that are affected by an overconsumption of alcohol are the cerebellum, medulla, and pituitary glands, and the hypothalamus. Staggering may also be a result of binge drinking cause by an imbalance of the cerebellum, which is known as the center of balance.
The brain is not the only organ affected. The liver and the heart are also affected. Binge drinking for a long time period results in a scarring of the liver also known as cirrhosis. High blood pressure and stroke are common effect on the heart for heavy drinkers.
Steven Kelly- Forbes, a sophomore business administration student from Vero Beach, Fla., admits to binge drinking.
He said he realized his limits when consuming alcohol. Forbes said he hasn’t seen or known anyone to lose focus on academics or become pregnant due to excessive alcohol. However, he has seen people reach a certain point of drinking and turn into a “mean drunk.”
The brain is not the only organ affected. The liver and the heart are also affected. Binge drinking for a long time period results in a scarring of the liver also known as cirrhosis. High blood pressure and stroke are common effect on the heart for heavy drinkers.
Vanessa Cassis, a third-year accounting student from Miami, said she realizes the harmful effects binge drinking can have on lives, and that when one binge drinks, his or her mindset is to consume more alcohol.
“I think binge drinking has horrible effects,” Cassis said. “When they’re drunk from binge drinking, they are not themselves. They are not cognizant of what is going on and they can end up in harmful arms if they are around the wrong people."