Sunday 27 August 2017

Drinking games

or drinking contests have been banned at one of the universities in this state. The students are unhappy.
The ban does not surprise me, neither does the reaction.
I am old enough to have been through the first part of my tertiary education when the drinking age was 21. Then parliament was stupid enough to lower the age of majority to 18 and the drinking age with it. 
Alcohol became available on campus rather than off campus. Yes of course people under 21 were drinking alcohol when I was there. It is a rite of passage for most young  people in this country - at some point you get extremely drunk. You regret it and, all too often, some people do it again  - and again. 
Lowering the age of majority meant that it was even easier to obtain and over indulge in alcohol. There are individuals, legally classified as children, who have over indulged in alcohol.
I don't drink alcohol and I don't eat anything with vinegar in it. Both things will make me feel as if I am itching all over. It is a thoroughly unpleasant feeling and, on medical advice, I avoid those things. Even if that was not the case I would hope that I would indulge only rarely and just a little at a time. 
If other people want to indulge that's fine. It doesn't bother me as long as they don't drink to excess and behave in obnoxious or dangerous ways as a result.
And that's the problem. When I went back to university 18yr old students could and did drink alcohol. Parties became wild alcohol fuelled affairs. They often ended unpleasantly. 
That was bad enough but there was also pressure on students to drink alcohol - and drink it to excess. Even as a mature age student I would be asked, "Aren't you going to have a drink?" I'd explain and get, "Well, a little one wouldn't hurt would it?" Sorry, yes it would."  I avoided the parties anyway. The young ones didn't want anyone over the age of 26 there and their music wasn't to my taste anyway. 
And all that has a deleterious effect on academic performance. It isn't possible to stop people from imbibing alcohol and over indulging in it but bars on campus (and often cheaper alcohol) make it all too easy.
The students might be angry but I am wondering whether banning drinking games - at least officially - is such a bad thing.

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