Look, we all know that drunken stupidity is a problem on college campuses. And we all know that Universities are at risk of being held responsible if something were to go horribly wrong. So it makes sense that schools are constantly coming up with new ways to combat the binge drinking. Except some of their ideas are less than stellar.

The latest “brilliant” plan?

“Student carers,” AKA, sober monitors at The University of Cambridge. Basically, the university will be paying students over $100 a night to babysit a drunk student. You know, kind of like how your friends usually take care of you. Except you don’t get fined for being drunk (unless you consider waking up to find some horribly embarrassing drunk texts to be a fine), or have a stranger holding back your hair and judging you while you puke up the fried Oreos you ate because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It sounds absurd because it is absurd. Read More »

Blame it on the M-M-M-M-M-Miley

So apparently drinking and doings drugs is cool again.

At least that’s what our friends over at Jezebel are telling us the stats at Drugfree.org are telling them. 45% of high school students don’t see a “great risk” in heavy drinking. And 68% of those high school students have had their first drink by age 14. Additionally, since 2008 the use of marijuana is up from 32% to 39% and the use of ecstasy is up from 4% to 6%.

But let’s step back from the statistics for a minute an discuss the stuff behind the stats. For the first time in years substance abuse is once again on the rise and the real question on everyone’s mind has to be, why?

The director of strategy at Drugfree.org suggests budget cuts to prevention programs, the legalization of medicinal marijuana or even the stress of difficult economic times. But for me at least, these don’t seem like viable options.  I don’t think medicinal marijuana is behind this increase, nor do I think it’s the hard economic times. I mean, if teens don’t see the risk of binge drinking do you really think they see the ramifications of the stock market crash? And, honestly, I don’t think it’s the loss of prevention programs either. Teens today live in a world without limits. All the information they could ever want is at their fingertips. Pamphlets won’t tell them anything Google can’t. Read More »

"Cheers to spending an extra 40 minutes on a Spin bike this week!"

Let’s all have a “come to Jesus” (or in my case, Moses) moment here and get real for a minute. Have you ever really thought about how many calories you consume in a single night of fun?

We all know that drinking adds extra calories. I mean, how many times have we heard someone tell us “If you want to lose weight, cut out alcohol”? But let’s face it, for a lot of us, that is pretty much asking us to give up going to college.

So what do we do? We make up for our weekend activities by making cuts in our week day diets.  But much like we underestimate how many shoes we have in our closest when debating a new purchase of totally adorable must-have-them-now sparkly pumps, we also tend to underestimate how much we’re actually drinking/eating on the weekends. We factor in our estimated calories in a very sober state, often forgetting what happens when we transition from sober to, well, not so much.

– Are you thinking about all those extra beers you drank when everyone decided to play flip-cup?

– Do you think about the gallon of Gatorade you chugged after you downed nearly a bottle of tequila?

– Do you even remember the small pizza you ate when you got home…in bed… as your roommates force-fed you water?

Yes, we’ve all been there and we all know what it’s like to drink/eat more than we anticipated and then be frustrated when it shows in the scale the following week. So here is some drink for thought: If you don’t want to pack on the extra pounds in college, you gotta be realistic about how much you’re really going to drink/eat on your nights out and make up for those extra calories somewhere else during the week.

Let me break it all down for ya and offer some healthy ways to offset that “MOST EPIC SATURDAY NIGHT, EVER!”

No one likes a hot mess.  Okay, well that’s not exactly true.  We looove LocaLohan and anyone who has been an E! True Hollywood Story, but when it comes to college it’s best to leave the crazy work to the professionals.

This means your roommate doesn’t want to disrobe your unconscious body at 3 a.m., the girls down the hall don’t want to carry you naked into the shower, and you don’t want to clean up your vom from under the bed the following morning.  The first week of school is when you’ll be at your most susceptible to making such novice mistakes.  You’re new, you’ve yet to fall victim to the Freshman Fifteen, and the older guys are taking full notice of these facts.

Stay in your hallmates’ good graces and prevent the puke with these oh-so-simple drinking Dos and Don’ts…

Read More »

Truth: all-nighters just got more fun.

Dearest CollegeCandy readers, I trust by now you’ve heard we’re big supporters of Boxed Wine Wednesday and Thirsty Thursdays. And Get Drunk For No Reason Saturdays….and Mondays.  You’ve seen our reports on the endless benefits of boozing.  Some of you have agreed with our debauched ways, while others balked that constant drinking is wrong.

Well hang on to your hats, ladies, because I’m about to make it oh-so right all over again.

A recently released Norwegian study shows that moderate consumption of wine is tied to higher scores on cognitive tests.  What’s that?  You’re not impressed?  Well I’m not finished.  That same study goes on to show that those who abstained entirely from drinking resulted in lower scores among females.

Still not done!

As luck would have it, getting wasted is also the key to success at work.  Mark Jeffries agreed with you naysayers and initially refrained from the ritual end of the day drinkathon with his coworkers.  Then, when the economy took a nose-dive, he was fired.

Upon looking back, Jeffries realized it was his polite decline of those bar invitations that probably helped escort him out the door of his office.  You see, he never created emotional bonds with fellow staff members.  The not-drinking hurt his shot at building a social niche for himself within the company.

And with that, I invite you to apply this theory to every area of your life.  Drink with classmates, drink with roommates, drink with people you’ve never met before….in the library…the night before finals.

Cheers!

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like free birth control! ) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

From Stanford to Florida State there are certain traditions that hold true in college across the country - homecoming, welcome week craziness, wearing flip flops in the shower, and getting up close and personal with your toilet after way too many shots on Friday night. College drinking has been a hot button issue for a long time, and there’s always been the question of who should step up and be responsible for it. Some recent reports have said that schools aren’t doing enough to curb excessive drinking – but should it be up to the schools?

On one side, colleges do have a responsibility toward their students’ health and that should at least include doing their best to distribute information and make policies that help keep students from chugging down the booze until it’s stomach-pump time. Also since many colleges are a major epicenter for the towns they’re in, often the school’s policies spill over into the surrounding communities, which in turn helps to curb the bingeing overall. And whether it’s fair or not, colleges are the only ones who really have jurisdiction in these kind of situations since it’s not a legal issue, so it has to be up to the schools to try and keep students (at least reasonably, sorta) sober. Read More »

Attention college grads: put down your martini for just a moment and check out the new poll conducted by Gallup.com.  The results show that 71% of college graduates like to get their drink on, compared to only 58% of those with a high school degree or less.

Think about the last time you got your buzz on.  Was it last night?  The night before?  This morning? I’d venture to say it probably was in the not-too-distant past.  While some scientists might be scratching their heads over this significant drinking gap, I can think up a few explanations for this post-university bender we find ourselves on.

Duh, the economy’s got us all depressed.
A lot of us are unemployed.  You may have a job working at Baby Gap, but that’s not a career.  The general lack of a 9 to 5 schedule means we’ve got more room for late nights out and hungover mornings.  And when you’re a twenty-something folding shirts or scooping ice cream all day, you often need a drink to soften the blow of “Is this my life?” moments.

Sometimes the booze is free.
If you’re living with your parents to save on rent, chances are you don’t have much money to spend on alcohol either.  You’ll never get those student loans paid off if you bankroll your friends at the bar, but invite them home and drink the good stuff courtesy of Dad’s liquor cabinet. When it’s just sitting there, how can you say no? Read More »

For many college students, going to a top-rated party school is an honor and a bragging right. Princeton Review, the granddaddy of all rankings, announced today that the University of Georgia is this year’s top party school in the country. Damage control began right away for UGA officials, reminding the country that there is no actual scientific truth behind these rankings and that UGA is a university that strictly enforces the importance of a solid education.

As a Nittany Lion (and 2009/2010 #1 party school attendee) , I honestly couldn’t be happier. Penn State spent all of last year under strict scrutiny because of our Number 1 party school status. I’m sure there are plenty of PSU students talking about how as the new #3 school, we have “work to do,” but maybe they should remember the tragic incident that kicked off the 2009-2010 school year. The “pressure to live up” to these rankings caused one student his life. Sure, every freshman has those nights where they get a little too drunk, and as college students, we idealize these hysterical stories that we tell over Sunday brunch in the dining commons. But these rankings take those crazy nights to a whole new level and don’t only affect a person’s time spent in school, but much, much more.

When I chose to attend Penn State, I made the decision based on our incredible alumni association and the overall environment of Happy Valley. I wanted to be able to walk into a job interview and be proud. Penn State proud. I didn’t want the person sitting on the other side of the desk question whether or not I was capable of handling responsibilities because I went to a school known for beer bongs and keg stands. The authenticity of my GPA shouldn’t be under dispute. I worked my behind off during the week and I enjoy myself on weekends, like any other college student. Read More »

We’ve seen our share of interesting reality show topics over the years (to say the least) but this time, TV producers may have finally taken it too far. Directors are looking to create the first “Ivy League Reality Show,” at PRINCETON of all places! They have already started casting and will seek approval from the university for the show soon.

Is it just me or does this sound like an absolutely terrible idea in the making?

One freshman Princeton student commented that, “The show is a wonderful idea, because I’ve found that a lot of outsiders think [Princeton students] are something we’re not.”

Now what is it these outsiders think you are? Intelligent? Studious? Fortunate?—And what would you like them to believe after watching the show? That Princeton students can underage binge drink just as hard as the public university next door? Or that they can have just as much emotionally-detached, unprotected sex? Read More »

Once Thursday rolls around, college students are ready and raring to hit the juice and let loose. After spending countless hours primping and priming for a night out, you mix your first drinkie and your second, your third. You dance the night away to Rihanna and take advantage of the bar deals until you’ve lost count of the drinks you’ve had and you’re visiting your cupboards for some Easy Mac.

That is the great thing about a night out on the town: your worries wither away and nothing else matters but the party. But the worries will come back and sometimes, so will your dinner.

As April is Alcohol Awareness Month, we at College Candy thought it would be a vital time to point out some of the things you may not be thinking about between tossing back that Scooby Snack and hopping in the next game of flip cup.  When mission: have fun is the prominent factor on your mind, it is hard sometimes to remember the cost of tipping a few back. Read More »