Bingeing Became the New College

¶ … Bingeing Became the New College Sport," written by Barrett Seaman appeared in Time magazine on August 21, 2005. Published just prior to the fall semester, it seems as if this article will be a warning for parents about the dangers of college binge drinking. Seaman, who is also the author of the book, Binge: What Your College Student Won't Tell You, reports on the practice of "pregaming" in which under age students drink large amounts of alcohol in their dorm room or apartment prior to going to a party. Seaman argues that reducing the drinking age to 18 will reduce this practice and help college students become adults who drink responsibly.

Prior to reading this article, I was not familiar with the practice of pregaming. According to the Urban Dictionary, pregaming derives its name from tailgating prior to sporting events and now means drinking prior to any event. The Urban Dictionary adds further that this usually occurs because the party or event will require identification for the consumption of alcohol. I have not had any experience with this practice, but I have seen binge drinking among college students. College students, who are experiencing life without supervision from their parents for the first time, often want to experiment with as many experiences as possible.

I have several questions about the content of this article. First of all, how widespread is the practice of pregaming? Is the practice more common among males or females? I saw a news report recently that discussed how girls, in an effort to avoid consuming too many calories, will go the entire day without eating if they know they will be drinking at night. Are the practices related? The author of the article asserts that hospitalizations and deaths related to alcohol poisoning will be reduced if the drinking age is lowered, but provides only anecdotal evidence to support his claim. I would be interested to see information on the number of these incidents when the drinking age was 18.

In his article, Seaman explains the practice of pregaming. According to Seaman, college students who are too young to purchase alcohol drink large quantities of liquor prior to going to a party. This practice results in many students either being hospitalized or actually dying from alcohol poisoning. In relating the history of the legislation regarding the drinking age, Seaman explains that the drinking age was lowered to 18 in the 1960s as a result of student protests. During the 1980s, pressures from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) forced legislation that increased the drinking age to 21 in all 50 states. According to Seaman, prohibiting the use of alcohol for 18 to 20-year-olds resulted in making the use of alcohol more attractive for these young adults. He argues that while lowering the drinking age might initially result in a surge of drinking, eventually this would settle down and students would learn to drink responsible. As evidence, he cites the example of McGill University in Montreal where the legal drinking age is 18. Seaman states, "Many, when they first arrive, go overboard, exploiting their ability to drink legally. But by midterms, when McGill's demanding academic standards must be met, the vast majority have put drinking into its practical place among their priorities."