By Brandon Sapienza
Over the last couple of decades, there has been an increasing trend amongst college students: partying, drinking alcohol and taking other deadly substances.
The new social norm in places of higher education will undoubtedly be the demise of the future of the United States and the world.
It is no secret that on this campus, and on the thousands of other campuses across the country, parties involving drugs and alcohol are popular attractions for young adults who are living on their own for the first time.
The Core Institute found that 80 percent of the 19 million college students in America engaged in casual drinking. A majority of those students were also underage drinkers.
Having a causal drink is socially acceptable for those of legal drinking age. The problem comes when students drink to be socially accepted, or in other cases, students drink too much alcohol than they should.
According to the CDC, one out of every four students who attends a party will engage in binge drinking. This means that a person will have about four or five drinks in a span of just two hours.
After participating in such reckless activities, students will suffer in the classroom, missing classes or tanking on exams or papers. If they choose to continue these escapades, they can ultimately pay the consequences when they don’t graduate on time, or even worse, when their addiction to partying and binge drinking leads to a life of pure alcoholism.
I don’t want to come off as being a party pooper. I was never interested in having a social life that was dependent on finding a way to get alcohol illegally and then taking it to an empty house to be consumed at a rapid pace.
When I was out with my friends, never once was there alcohol involved. It was easy for us to have fun while sober. It shouldn’t be that hard for anyone else to do the same.
Not discouraging this lifestyle of drinking, taking drugs and partying obnoxiously is the same as encouraging it. I have yet to meet someone on this campus of importance who strongly denounces such behavior.
All I have heard are phrases like, “It’s ok, they’re young, wild and free,” or “As long as I don’t see it.” It doesn’t matter how old you are, how wild you can be and if you live in a free America or a communist North Korea, you still need to have some type of moral reasoning.
When the college process began in my high school, prospective students weren’t asking about the academics, the location or anything related to the fundamentals of achieving a higher education. Instead, many students focused on how much partying took place.
These are the same kids that settled on a random major without any knowledge of the field, and the same people who decided that they can just come home and do something there instead of making a name for themselves independently.
A study from Bucknell University found that college students who typically binge drink are also likely to be undeclared majors.
I find myself on the weekends outraged and appalled by some of the behavior I see on social media. Yes, I know this is coming from someone who doesn’t engage in these activities. However, my morals and reason kick in when I look at the screen with pure horror, seeing countless students acting in such irresponsible fashion.
This is why I believe America ranks poorly in some of the areas of academics. This is how one of the wealthiest and most populated countries in the world can be so below average in language arts, mathematics and science.
This idea of having fun, instead of working to achieve something, will bring this country down. The time has come to denounce this behavior exemplified by the youth of this nation and set people’s minds straight.
Going out partying all weekend will not get you a college degree. Hard work, passion and dedication will do that. It is time for the students of this university and those of other schools across the nation to choose a harder right over an easier wrong.
