Siara's Thoughts on College Drinking Culture
- Siara Carpenter
- Nov 7, 2023
- 1 min read
Freshman year I asked one of the girls on my floor how her roommate was doing. She said she hadn't seen her in a couple days because she had been drunk with her friends. This is not unheard of by any means. As a person who has had a roommate with a drug problem we aren't acknowledging the severity of college students' drug problems.
As a person who grew up in a small town in the Midwest, weed and our parents alcohol were easy to get our hands on. But some people at my school would do Xanax, molly or lean. The use of drugs as a solution to mental health issues based on escapism is all too common and there are not enough resources aimed towards youth. While drinking at parties is normal, the frequency in which many people consume drugs on a regular basis is alarming.
To be honest, this was one of the biggest culture shocks I experienced upon moving to the U.S. In the place where I grew up, drug use and excessive alcohol consumption were considered taboo. They were largely inaccessible and barely ever discussed. Arriving here and witnessing people take pride in their drug use, along with hearing countless stories ending with 'I don’t remember what happened next,' is alarming. I’m unsure of the solution to this issue or the next steps to take. Even the precautions and online courses that USC implements don't seem to help. My concern is that people will only realize the severity of the situation when it's too late.
Thank you for calling out the normalized culture of alcoholism and drug abuse within American Universities. As a student at USC, I've witnessed too many people throwing up on the streets from blacking out than I'd like to admit. The behavior is terrifying, yet celebrated. People pride themselves on getting plastered, even if it resulted in physical harm. It all scares me. I was scared of alcohol and drug usage in high school, and Ill continue to be.
Having lived in a fraternity house, drug and alcohol use became disturbingly normal for me to witness. I became desensitized to a lot of very excessive behavior, including alcohol abuse and hard drug usage during school days. I also witnessed a fentanyl overdose, and saw one of my best friends taken to the hospital in an ambulance with no clue if he was going to survive. With all that being said, I completely understand where you are coming from with the drug use in college being so shocking. While for me it may not have been as surprising necessarily, it's a very serious issue that is very close to my heart.
I never really knew about any drugs since I grew up in a state where it was tightly monitored. I was really shocked to come to LA and see how big of a thing it was–and how often it was offered to me. It's such a difference of experience and it's something I think about from time to time.
I knew that college drinking and drug use was existent, but I was never aware that it was this bad...
I seriously believe that it is an issue that we have to take action for. It's not only terrible for the health, but it can also create so many dangerous situations. Do you have any ideas for actions that can be taken to prevent this from continuing in college life?