Alcohol is a ubiquitous part of the college experience, with 62.5 percent of UCLA undergraduates reporting in a survey last year that they drink. Making up such a large part of the college scene, drinking has many causes and effects that students should be aware of.
According to the 2006 Student Development Student Survey, which was administered online to all currently enrolled UCLA students last winter quarter, among those that reported drinking, the average number of drinks consumed is 3.6 drinks per sitting. This same group who said they drink reported that they believe their peers consume an average of 5.2 drinks per sitting.
Kristen McKinney, assistant director for UCLA student development and health education, said the survey indicates that people are more likely to think that their peers drink more than they actually do.
“If you look at social norms theory, if students had a more accurate view of how much other students drink, they would be inclined to drink less than they do,” she said.
John Nguyen, a fourth-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said he believes more students drink in college than in high school because alcohol is more widely available.
“There are hookups, parties and lots of mediums in which students can get alcohol. In high school, it’s a lot harder because all your friends are below 21,” he said.
Nguyen said he believes that peer pressure plays a significant role in student drinking and that students typically drink not for the taste but for others.
“I don’t think most people enjoy alcohol, because it doesn’t really taste good, but peer pressure is the main reason why people drink,” Nguyen said.
Teresa Do, a third-year physiological science student, said she believes peer pressure often affects peoples’ drinking habits, though it doesn’t have to.
“At parties, as long as you enjoy yourself and stay strong and you play it casual, they won’t make it a deal and they’ll leave you alone, and you just learn to have fun without alcohol,” she said.
While such factors may play a role in whether one decides to drink or not, biological explanations can be found for the way one responds to alcohol.
Ernest Noble, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and the director of the Alcohol Research Center at the UCLA Medical Center, said genes affect a person’s decision to drink alcohol.
Noble said there is a genetic form of alcoholism and an environmental form, with the environmental form capable of being treated more easily through education and decision making.
The genetic form is linked to the dopamine gene, and people with a certain version of this gene tend to be risk-takers and have an increased chance of becoming alcoholics, he said.
“The dopamine neurotransmitter is released when they are expressing themselves through risk-taking behaviors or drinking, and they derive pleasure from this,” Noble said. “When they’re taking these risks, they’re pouring out a lot of dopamine, so they feel a lot of excitement.”
Excessive drinking may cause people problems in the future, such as weakening of the heart muscle, hardening of the liver and reproductive damage, he said.
By drinking, students may be harming themselves in the short-term as well.
“Your cognitive capacities are affected when you drink, and you don’t remember what you’ve read or done and may do poorly in school,” Noble said.
Susie Spear, project director of the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse programs, said drinking is also related to peoples’ emotional and mental health issues, and drinking may interfere with their lives.
“When someone (drinks) regularly, it starts to interfere with their functioning, their social relationships, meeting the responsibilities they’re supposed to meet, whether it’s as a student or family member,” she said. “People don’t always see the relationship between these problems and their drinking.”
Robert Richter, a fourth-year political science and history student, said he has seen people who have had major problems with alcoholism, and they started with binge drinking.
“They drink now not because they want to go have a good time with friends, but they drink because it’s Friday and that’s what you do to do forget the pain of Monday to Friday,” he said.
“We’re paying a lot of money to come here, and if you drink or use any drug to the point it affects your schoolwork, that’s just throwing money down the drain,” he added.
But Nguyen said he believes students who drink can moderate their consumption without the negative consequences.
“You just have to drink a little bit to have fun and loosen up,” he said. “Most people, when they hear the word alcohol, it’s like a bad connotation, but in fact it’s really not that bad.”
Andrew Lewis, a third-year political science student, said he doesn’t believe the majority of the student population drinks alcohol and that drinking is not necessarily harmful.
“I think, if done socially and responsibly, it can be an OK thing and can be a stress releaser,” he said.