Alcohol gets out of hand

College students have the amazing ability to find any opportunity to celebrate.

Passing a… College students have the amazing ability to find any opportunity to celebrate.

Passing a test, getting a new job, being single or winning the most recent football game are all worthy of a few drinks with some friends. For those who drink, many agree that they use alcohol as a social lubricant. Alcohol helps you loosen up; it’s always easier to talk to someone when you’ve had a few drinks, no matter how shy or outgoing you actually are.

However, we have all witnessed the obnoxious partygoer, the incessant vomitter and the testosterone-filled antagonizer. While many of these are just good times that have gotten out of hand, there is something to be said for the regular disturbers. Oftentimes I have asked myself, “What is wrong with this kid?”

A friend of mine loves to partake in the Pitt tradition of drinking. So much, in fact, that he has created the “Banker’s Club,” after Banker’s Club vodka. Friends gather in his second floor apartment and drink shot after shot of the liquor while blaring country music and playing video games. I know, because not only is my boyfriend his roommate and best friend, but I also happen to live in the apartment underneath them.

But, what seems to be just a good time often takes a turn for the worse. My friend goes from a happy, friendly drinker to an aggressive, depressed drunk. He does not know, or does not concern himself with, his limit. Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde.

On numerous occasions he has roamed the streets of South Oakland with the sole purpose of starting a fight. He becomes a man from the movie “Fight Club;” he provokes others so that they will fight with him. Men of South Oakland beware: some kid will throw trash cans at you or dent your car just so that you will hit him in the face.

When another dramatic night passes, my boyfriend and I ask ourselves why our friend behaves in such ways. When we tell him the next day what happened the night before, he laughs. But we hardly think it’s funny, especially when the situation gets serious enough that bystanders get involved and/or police arrive.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, college alcohol substance use contributes to around 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries and 97,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year. While I have never been a witness to these activities, the threat strengthens every time another drinker at another party gets out of control.

What separates the average social drinker from the college alcoholic is motivation. Alcoholics don’t drink because they want to; they drink because they think they need to. Alcohol is a type of anesthetic; it makes the person feel numb to any problem or issue they are dealing with. Avoidance or denial of everyday issues can lead many people to booze.

Most college students are able to have a good time without the use of alcohol. However, alcoholics need to satisfy their craving before they can enjoy themselves. Without beer, there can be no fun.

The problem with college alcoholism is that it is very disguisable. Let’s face it: A large portion of Pitt students drink. Parties spill over onto streets like Meyran and Dithridge. With hundreds of students drinking on any given weekend, college alcoholics can make themselves right at home. To the average student, it’s hard to differentiate between a partier and an alcoholic.

Unfortunately, because these students can go undetected, they go unaided. Even if a friend or roommate becomes suspicious, who wants to tell another person that he drinks too much? Plus, the only real help that alcoholics can get is through mediation and therapy, services the Student Health center offers.

While my boyfriend and I have many theories as to why our friend has become a borderline alcoholic – past relationships, low self-esteem, etc. – we know that if the drinking continues it will become self-destructive. We worry that he will become another number in the millions of alcoholics. But, while we know that this is a very scary and serious problem, he is the only one that can solve it.

To join the Banker’s Club, e-mail Katie at kar37@pitt.edu.