By Samantha Brookes
Ignatius Horstmann, a sophomore history major at Texas Tech University, knows alcohol related deaths are a reality for some students and addicts. He said he has known two people this year who have died from alcohol and drug use.
“When you get in recovery, get ready, because people are going to start dying,” Horstmann said.
Horstmann is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who is a part of the Center for Collegiate Recovery Communities.
However, alcohol related deaths and illnesses do not only happen to those with problems with addiction.
Alana Kiker/The Hub@TTU
According to a survey by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 599,000 college students between the ages of 18-24 are injured each year while under the influence of alcohol, including motor vehicle crashes. About 1,825 of these injuries result in death.
The survey revealed that more than 690,000 students are assaulted by other intoxicated students annually and attributes most of these injuries and deaths to binge drinking, a staple on college campuses.
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration level to 0.08 percent or higher. This equates to about five drinks for men and four drinks for women in two hours.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention lists some of the potential illnesses as a result of binge drinking as: alcohol poisoning, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, liver disease, neurological damage and sexual dysfunction.
Alan Reifman, professor of human development and family studies, said many colleges students choose to binge drink because of their lack of responsibility, newfound freedom and social norming.
According to Reifman, social norming is the theory that people do something because they think that everyone else is doing it, and drinking in excess has become part of the college description.
“Colleges send mixed messages to their students,” Reifman said. “On one hand you have Alcohol Awareness Week on campuses, and on the other you can find in almost any college book store a shot glass with the school’s logo on it.”
George Comiskey, associate director of the CCRC, said binge drinking can also be a symptom of students lacking the correct tools to deal with the stress they face in a healthy manner.
Comiskey said someone does not have to be an alcoholic to have a problem with alcohol.
“Alcohol can alter people’s lives in a subtle way,” Comiskey said. “It doesn’t have to be huge but it can have an impact.”
Maddy McCarty/The Hub@TTU
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism claims that one in four college students reports their drinking having academic consequences. It was also reported that binge drinkers are about six times more likely to perform poorly on a test than non-binge drinkers.
Horstmann said he was driven in high school and a member of the swimming team, but all that changed when he began drinking and doing drugs.
“The worst part was that it robbed me of my ambition,” Horstmann said.
When he is at social events or football games and sees heavy drinking, Horstmann said he does not miss it and reminds him of how glad he is to be done with that part of his life.
Horstmann said he encourages people to seek help if they see that alcohol might be playing a negative role in their life.
“Be careful, because it only takes one bad night to ruin your life,” Horstmann said.
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