Spring break drinking dilemmas
PHOTO BY AHNA JOHNSON
from page 1
While many of these commercials can be corny and
overdone, the messages they send are no laughing
matter.
According to a press release given to the
Youngstown State University student newspaper, it
was found that 97 percent of students drink during
spring break. It was also found that skin cancer rates
are on the rise and nearly three out of five women
have unprotected sex while drinking on spring
break.
"Alcohol makes terrible, terrible ideas seem
absolutely brilliant," freshman Ian Luther said.
"Things that you would never actually do sober seem
fun and exciting, and you do them."
Students work so hard throughout spring semester,
and many of them feel that spring break is their time
to let loose and finally relax before they have to go
back to their daily lives.
"It’s going to be so nice to go on a break with your
friends, new or old, where you have no worries about
what's due the next day," freshman Katie Lindholm
said.
And while many students enjoy cocktails, they
do not think about some of the consequences their
drinking can have on themselves and others. Most
people consider the common dangers, like alcohol
poisoning and potential date rape or unprotected sex,
but the unique experiences that can affect the rest of
a person’s life are overlooked.
One of the major issues is going to a different
country. While hotel bargains in Mexico may seem
fabulous, many college students think that just
because they leave the country, all rules are gone.
However, public drunkenness can still be ticketed,
and drinking legally does not make drunken choices
go away.
In many foreign countries, alcohol consumption is
legal at age 18, and in some countries, marijuana laws
are much less strict, if they even exist at all. Because
of these leniencies, going somewhere foreign seems
like the best way to live it up.
But there can still be serious legal ramifications
for going abroad and drinking. Just because a travel
agency offers a deal that inexplicitly promises very
little legal supervision does not mean that anything
goes.
Many people go abroad and drink without any real
problems. Sophomore Emily Turner went on a one-
day cruise with some friends to the Bahamas. Once
the girls hit international waters, they were allowed
to drink.
"It was all-you-can-drink on the boat, so we made
friends with the bartenders and they filled up our
glasses the entire time," Turner said.
None of the girls were ever asked for IDs because
they had to present their passports when they got
on the ship and were given colored wristbands
depending on their age.
"We had orange (wristbands] because we were 18
and could only drink once we were out of the United
States,” Turner said.
With day cruises and trips involving lots of
sunshine, something that might not occur to
unsuspecting spring breakers is sunscreen. Drunken
college students are much less likely to worry about
the dangers of the sun, and they may not feel when
they are getting sunburned.
Getting a little sunburnt does not seem like a big
deal, but if the sunburn is bad enough, it can lead
to s»fl
is-characterized by blistering,
headache?, ^^jjl^pausea, dizziness and dehydration,
and can require immediate medical attention if it is
severe'enoufh.
One week of spring break drinking can equal
the amount of alcohol that person would normally
consume in one year, according to a press release
given to the Youngstown State University student
newspaper.
In the United States, alcohol-related deaths are
also at a peak during spring break. The rate of fatal
car crashes that involve alcohol is twice as high
among 16-20 year-olds, as they are among people
who are actually legal to drink, according to the
British Medical Association.
In addition, the association said alcohol
consumption interacts with conditions like stress
and depression to spike the number of attempted
suicides, specifically for people between the ages of
14 and 25.
Elon Edge staff
Editor: Sam Parker
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