My freshman year of college took me more than 1,500 miles away from my home to an atmosphere in which I didn't know anyone. It could have opened a whole new world of opportunities to my life.
Instead, I found myself almost losing my life. If it hadn’t been for the intelligence and quick action of my floor mates, I wouldn't be graduating from college this May. I would be dead. I wouldn't have been remembered for my accomplishments; I would have only been known for the way I died. My name would have been plastered across headlines as just another of the 4,000 people the organization Remove Intoxicated Drivers estimates die each year from alcohol overdosing—drinking too much alcohol too quickly. I would be known as the girl who drank herself to death during cheerleader initiation.
The four Jell-O shooters, two shots, two mixed drinks and two beers I consumed in less than three hours was way too much for my 135-pound body to handle. The alcohol started to depress my central nervous system to a point that it started to turn off the parts of my brain that control consciousness, respiration and heart rate. I was on what many experts call a drinking binge.
According to a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, the prevalence of frequent binge drinkers is on the rise across college campuses. The 1999 study revealed that two out of every five students are binge drinkers. Frequent binge drinkers account for more than two-thirds of the serious alcohol-related problems on campus. Leading the pack in percentage of binge drinkers are athletes and members of the Greek system. I was both.
Initiation took place at a fellow cheerleader's house the night after our first home football game. During the game, I was eager for the night's festivities to start. I looked forward to the evening because it was a chance to get to know the upperclassmen outside of practice. The evening started early, and there were seven freshman girls to be initiated.
Only five of us drank, but we drank heavily, starting out the night with Jell-O shots and shots of hard alcohol. By the end of the night, we were playing rounds of drinking games, performing cheers and dancing to the school song in the middle of the campus streets.
Most of the night is a blur to me, but my floor mates have filled in many of the blanks. I don't remember leaving the party or even going back to my dorm room. My friends said I was being really funny at first. I wanted to dance, and at first I was doing a pretty good job at dancing in my room in my pyjamas. But I kept falling and hitting my head.
When my roommate and floor mate, both fellow cheerleaders, returned intoxicated, they spent most of their time vomiting in the bathroom. I, on the other hand, couldn't throw up. My friends tried to force me to throw up by telling me to listen to my roommate. They even tried shoving their fingers down my throat, but I couldn't do it. They knew something was terribly wrong when they couldn't wake me up. My eyes were rolled in the back of my head, and I wouldn't respond to the question, “Laura, what is your name?”
My friends didn't call 911. Instead, they carried me to a vehicle and drove me three blocks to the hospital. I woke up the next morning to someone poking my arm in a white, sterile hospital room. A voice echoed through my throbbing head, asking, “Laura, do you know where you are?” I shook my head no, and it felt like a gun had just discharged in my brain. “You're in the hospital,” the voice rang out. “You almost died last night. We had to pump your stomach.”
When my roommate entered the room, I felt even more desperate and ashamed. She grabbed my bruised hand and helped walk my swollen body to the emergency exit. I was mortified. My body was weak and sore and I felt like I had just been run over by a truck. The way my brain felt almost made me believe that all those blond jokes were true, and my pride shattered to a million pieces.
While not all binge drinkers end up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning, binge drinking is still widely recognized as the most serious public-health problem confronting colleges and universities. Binge drinking is defined by the Harvard study “as male students who have had five or more and female students who had four or more drinks in a row at least once in a two-week period.”
While the Harvard study focuses on the use of alcohol by college students, researchers have found that most underage college drinkers began using alcohol in high school, and half of all binge drinkers binged in high school.
I grew up in a small town, and I wasn't immune to the effects of alcohol before I left for college. In high school, I was usually the designated driver who watched out for my friends even though they always pestered me that I acted like their mothers. Despite being teased, I felt it was important that my friends were safe and smart. I had already lost friends to alcohol use my first year of high school, and I didn't want to see any others slip away.
During high school, I was an honour-roll student, a varsity cheerleader, president of Pep Club and editor of the yearbook. I was so involved in extracurricular activities that I had little time to party. Less than a year after graduation, I found myself with a pounding headache wondering how I almost died because of the amount of alcohol I had consumed.
According to Be Responsible About Drinking, a non-profit organization founded by a family who lost their son to alcohol poisoning, the number of drinks you consume isn't as important as the amount of alcohol you consume. One drink is defined as a 12-ounce beer, one shot of 80-proof liquor or one four- to five-ounce glass of wine. But drinks vary in alcohol content, so it is important to know what you are drinking. Not all drinks are alike.
Before I went to college, I was aware of some the harmful side effects of alcohol: hangovers, poor academic performance, nausea, memory loss. When I used in high school, I felt safe because I was looking out for my friends’ best interests, and they were looking out for me. Thinking I was invincible and “safe” at college, I never realized you could drink yourself to death.
I saw alcohol as an icebreaker. It helped me break out of my shell. I could talk to people I wouldn't normally have the guts to talk to and do things that I wouldn't normally do. According to the Core Institute, a non-profit organization that assists higher-education institutions in drug and alcohol prevention efforts, I wasn't alone in my views on the social effects of alcohol. More than 70 percent of college students surveyed believe alcohol helps break the ice, enhance social activities and facilitate peer connections. More than 50 percent believe alcohol helps people have more fun.
College is boasted as one of the most exciting times of your life. For me, it was a scary yet exciting time because I was moving to a state where I didn't know anyone. When I left Montana, I left everything and everyone familiar behind, which made me vulnerable. I hoped alcohol would help me bond with my fellow cheerleaders so that I wouldn’t feel like an outsider.
The night of cheerleader initiation, I wasn't forced, but I decided to drink. I felt alcohol was just what I needed to break down barriers and make friends. Instead, it left me humiliated and it almost cost me my life. Luckily for me, I had other friends living in the dorms who didn't allow me to “sleep the alcohol off.” If they would have, it would have been likely that I would have never opened my eyes again. I would have missed out on the rest of my life just because I felt like I had to drink to fit in. You will have many opportunities in life to find your niche. I almost let alcohol destroy my chance. I’m glad I returned home alive and healthy on an airplane instead of in a body bag.
If someone has been drinking and the individual: - is conscious or semi-conscious - has slow respiration (breathing just eight to ten breaths per minute or if lapses between breaths are longer than eight seconds) - is cold or clammy - has pale or bluish skin - is asleep and won’t wake up - is vomiting You should: - call for help - try to wake the person - turn the person onto his/her side to prevent choking, should the intoxicated person vomit - stay with the person until medical attention arrives Remember: The only thing that can sober a drunk is time.
Frequent binge drinkers consume 72 percent of all alcohol that college students drink. (Harvard School of Public Health)
Two out of three underage students reported drinking the last 30 days. (Harvard School of Public Health)
Every year, college students spend about $5.5 billion on alcohol -- mostly beer. This is more than they spend on books, soda, coffee, juice and milk combined. (Bacchus and Gamma Peer Education Network)
Compared to non-binge drinkers, frequent bingers are 17 times more likely to miss a class, ten times more likely to vandalize property and eight times more likely to get hurt or injured as a result of their drinking. (Harvard School of Public Health)
