Essay, Research Paper: College Students & Alcohol

There are many reasons why campus life has the problems that it does today. One of the biggest problems is student alcohol abuse. Many college students' lives are ruined because of drinking and abusing alcohol. Drinking alcohol is said to cause young adults to drop-out, fail school, practice unsafe sexual acts, commit crimes such as rape, and unfortunately, even commit suicide.
So, who is responsible for all of these negative occurences caused by drinking and abusing alcohol? Is it the college's responsibility? The media's? The alcohol manu-facturer's? Or, is it really only the responsibilty of the students themselves.
Well, some people feel that a lot of the responsibility lies with the college administration. They feel that the college should be more strict with rules that prohibit student drinking. But the college fears that if they accept responsibility for policing campus drinking, that they will be held legally responsible for its effects.
Other people place the blame on the beer companies for marketing their products to these young individuals. Of course, it doesn't help that most of the
commercials seen on television, show very young people drinking and having a great time. This puts a false impression in these young students' minds that you must drink in order to have fun.
Because alcohol is legal to use, unlike illegal drugs, most people do not think that alcohol is a "drug." But, in all actuality, it is. It is very addictive to people with high susceptibility to becoming an addict. There is always the possibility that having that one drink may lead to a life-long addiciton problem. It is also very dangerous to give alcoholic drinks to people who have a health condition that they may or may not know about. Alcohol is dangerous when mixed with over-the-counter cold and pain remedies, and it sometimes even may trigger a more serious health threat, such as heart attacks or strokes.
Personally, I do not feel that I am being marketed to by beer companies. I am very self-disciplined and feel that I can use my own good judgment to choose whether to drink or not. I feel that if I would decide to drink, that I could do it responsibly. But things may be different, if I were in a college away from home. Peer pressure is a very strong influence to most of these young adults. They feel that if their friends are drinking that it is alright if they drink too, which is unfortunate. I wish more young adults would realize, that ultimately they are responsible for their own actions. Maybe then they would consider the consequences of doing something stupid before they actually do it.