"Students tend to underestimate how much they drink, and they do that because they overestimate how much alcohol constitutes one drink, even if they're trying to be as honest as possible," White said.
In other words, kids -- especially underaged kids, or inexperienced drinkers -- consume more than they think they're consuming, as in "Oh, I can have two drinks." If they're drinking at a bar, the bartender is responsible for the amount of alcohol in a "drink". At a party or a house -- if you don't have a shot glass or a measuring cup for hard liquor, it is danged easy to overpour.
Some kids don't know the risks involved, and so end up dangerously drunk, or dead.
Aaron White, a Duke University Medical Center professor, said a recent study he did shows that college students often drink more than they intend to because they have a hard time defining the term "drink."
For the study, he had 133 undergraduates at the North Carolina school, most underage, pour water into various containers in the amounts they thought were a serving of beer, shot of liquor, mixed drink and glass of wine. In every case, the students, on average, poured too much, White said.
"Students tend to underestimate how much they drink, and they do that because they overestimate how much alcohol constitutes one drink, even if they're trying to be as honest as possible," White said.
The students came closest with the 12-ounce beer, pouring about 12 percent too much, but missed the mark for mixed drinks, almost doubling the 1.25 ounces of liquor intended for one drink. White said this is especially dangerous when students think they're limiting themselves by only having a few mixed drinks.
"Even if you don't want to be a binge drinker and you only have three or four Long Island iced teas, you've still just had enough to potentially kill yourself," White said. There are about four shots of liquor in one Long Island iced tea, making four glasses equivalent to 16 drinks, he said.
Students just don't know how big a drink should be, White said. He said bottles of wine and liquor should clearly define serving sizes, perhaps with marks on the bottles. He also said college alcohol education programs need to begin by defining the term "one drink."
At Kenyon College, there is a voluntary peer education program targeted at first-year students that emphasizes alcohol education, said Cheryl Steele, Kenyon's associate dean of students. However, the program does not physically show students the size of a beer or shot of alcohol, and she is not sure whether Boyarski attended the program.
Duquesne University has an alcohol-education and counseling program to teach students basic information about alcohol and to offer counseling if alcohol becomes a problem. Officials could not be reached for comment on the program's specifics or about whether Kenneff had attended the program.
At Carnegie Mellon University, students learn what constitutes one drink through pictures and can calculate blood-alcohol levels through a mandatory, online alcohol-education program the university introduced to its freshman class this year. Anita Barkin, CMU's director of student health services, said the course supplements several other more-traditional alcohol-awareness programs that the university holds during student orientation.
Beer cans and shot glasses are used as teaching tools to show students the size of one drink at University of Pittsburgh health and activity fairs, said Marcee Radakovich, Pitt's director of student health services. This year, the university began encouraging students to learn more about alcohol through an online program, in addition to several other voluntary alcohol-education programs.
While sipping a few drinks at Hemingway's Cafe on Forbes Avenue in Oakland, Jesse Stock, 22, and his friends Sara Beth Probst, 21, and Tara Bahl, 22, all students at Pitt, agreed that college students, themselves included, probably don't know the exact size of one drink and would tend to overpour. Stock said that even if students know there is more than one shot in a glass, they probably would still consider it one drink.
"They're just not precise, especially at parties," Stock said. "No one cares; they just fill up the glass."
That worries Stinner. Her son died in his Frostburg University, Md., dorm room in 1996 after returning from a party where he had various drinks containing vodka, including Jell-O shooters. Eight former Frostburg students were charged with manslaughter in his death, and each received a suspended sentence of 90 days in jail, five years' probation, 250 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine.
"I just get so upset when I read about kids dying from alcohol," she said. "Even if one kid would read this and think, if it would help one person, it'd be worth it."
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These Children Died of Alcohol Overdose, So Their Parents Started Foundations:
Taylor Webster's memorial foundation. Taylor died of alcohol poisoning at age 19-- Now his family and friends are working to get the message out, telling their stories and providing information on alcohol poisoning and the signs and symtoms of alcohol poisoning in hopes that lives will be saved.
Bradley McCue's memorial foundation. On November 5, 1998 Bradley turned 21. He celebrated his birthday in a way that has become increasingly popular, drinking "his age in shots". That amount of alcohol was lethal and he died that night of alcohol poisoning.
Samantha Spady's memorial foundation. A 19-year old student at Colorado State University, Spady died of alcohol poisoning on September 5, 2004, "an unintentional tragedy." The Spadys say the SAM [Student Alcohol Management] Spady Foundation will develop peer-to-peer counseling and other services meant to reduce the risk of alcohol abuse.
Gordie Bailey's
memorial foundation. (1) to educate the public about alcohol
poisoning; (2) to identify steps parents and students can take to
prevent such tragedies; (3) eradicate fraternity hazing in any form.
Signs of Alcohol Poisoning
Alcohol
depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing,
the heartbeat and the gag reflex that prevents choking. A fatal dose of
alcohol will eventually stop these functions. After the victim stops
drinking, the heart keeps beating, and the alcohol in the stomach
continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate through the system.
The victim may experience the following:
- Mental confusion, stupor, coma, unable to rouse the person
- No response to pinching the skin
- Vomiting while sleeping or unresponsive
- Seizures
- Slowed breathing (fewer than 8 breaths per minute)
- Irregular breathing (10 seconds or more between breaths)
- Hypothermia (low body temperature), bluish skin color, paleness
Alcohol Poisoning Requires Immediate Medical Attention
Alcohol Poisoning Cannot Be Reversed By:
- Drinking black coffee
- Taking a cold bath or shower
- Walking it off
The victim must have immediate medical attention.
Call 911, stay with the victim to prevent him choking on vomit, and tell emergency personnel how much alcohol the victim drank.
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alcoholism alcohol death alcohol OD alcohol poisoning college life
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