# College Alcohol Consumption and Partying Concerns **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183 "2017-06-30T05:06:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/81 "2017-07-06T02:45:37Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Dont worry about me handling college, me and you are wired differently. > Yes i have done the work, very long and grueling work, spending nearly 10 hrs a day for days during test days. Lets factor in some sleep and assuming you do not drink during this grueling hard work that now leaves us with 10-12 hours a day for consumption of your intoxicant of choice. Therefore at 12 hours a day all of this consumption now has to be doubled, or some other near factor, to assume your hourly intake rate. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/82 "2017-07-06T03:00:29Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Alright guys, this might relieve your disbeliefs. > > Yeah, there were some weeks where it was 100 drinks a week and others were 180 drinks a week. > > I dont really mind that people dont believe me because I understand the numbers are absurd. I know what Iv done and mentioned, and I am holding to that. Be stubborn and believe what you want. > > There is a thing called tolerance and it increases the more you use. 8-10 beers in a couple of hours gets me tipsy, not blackout. Now 20-30 beers in 5 or so hours will make me pretty drunk, but not passout drunk. > > Why is this hard to beleive? I have a lot of boredome and time on my hands. > > Not here to argue with people to believe me, just a discussion on my past experience. Like I said, as an Australian journalist, I’m no stranger to booze - but there are plenty of other ways to have fun in uni besides being drunk. Alcohol is good stuff when enjoyed responsibly (or even irresponsibly, in moderation) but there’s a point where drinking that much seems less like “Woo, yeah party!” and more like “If I drink enough the hurting inside stops”. What discussion are you looking for “Fuck yeah, you’re the man, downing all that booze. Please, teach us the ways of the university party that we too may drink our own bodyweights in intoxicants?” And for what it’s worth, it takes about an hour to process a standard drink of alcohol from your body. If you drink 20-30 beers in 5 hours, you’re going to be legally drunk until well into the following afternoon. You might feel fine - and coffee, Berocca, or some other pick you up might _make_ you feel OK, but if you get pulled over by the police and breathalysed while driving home the next morning, say goodbye to your driver’s licence for an incoveniently long time. ---
**Author:** ![RealTalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@RealTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTalk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/83 "2017-07-06T03:05:21Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Lets factor in some sleep and assuming you do not drink during this grueling hard work that now leaves us with 10-12 hours a day for consumption of your intoxicant of choice. > > Therefore at 12 hours a day all of this consumption now has to be doubled, or some other near factor, to assume your hourly intake rate. Damn dude, you are taking this too literally. Still able too. After those 10 hrs (ending at 6pm) i can still consume 15 beers in 6 hrs… ---
**Author:** ![RealTalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@RealTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTalk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/84 "2017-07-06T03:13:16Z")
Go to bed at around 1am wake up at 7am study at 8am til 6pm… not that hard. And i dont have bad hangovers. Look guys, i have said this already. I have finished college with a double major in business finance. So studies wasnt an issue i brought up. ---
**Author:** ![RealTalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@RealTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTalk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/85 "2017-07-06T03:16:54Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Jesus, are you sure you’re not in high school? Drinking games? I thought people stopped doing that bullshit when they turned 13 or so. Here’s a drinking game for you, whenever you feel like taking a drink, take a fucking drink. Everybody’s a winner. Yeah Bill, I am 13 years old AND in high school… were you 40 when you attended high school? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/86 "2017-07-06T04:54:40Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > What discussion are you looking for “Fuck yeah, you’re the man, downing all that booze. Please, teach us the ways of the university party that we too may drink our own bodyweights in intoxicants?” Pretty much this. I used to take the same pride in my drinking. No one could outdrink me and I thought I was super cool. I also thought that there wasn’t a connection between being the super heavyweight and becoming an alcoholic, either. And I wouldn’t have listened to more experienced voices either. Unfortunately, that’s one of the factors in becoming a drunk rather than just another heavy drinker. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/87 "2017-07-06T06:00:18Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Look guys, i have said this already. I have finished college with a double major in business finance. So studies wasnt an issue i brought up. Even assuming you’re one of the single-digit percentage of the population who can function long-term on six hours sleep per night - what exactly are you hoping to discuss here? Not one single person in this thread has said anything even vaguely approaching “Yeah, nothing unusual about what you’re doing. Only a slab an evening? Amateur,” which seems to be what you’re sort of hoping for. If you’re looking for validation, you won’t find it here. If you want an intelligent discussion about “ask the functioning party dude” you might have more luck. If you wanted to go even more unconventional and take the “It’s entirely possible to party and do well at uni, but how realistic is it generally?” tack then I think there’d be a good audience for that. If you just want to metaphorically crush a beercan on your forehead and shout “WOOO!” at us, then perhaps you should have turned left at Albuquerque… ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/88 "2017-07-06T10:18:05Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Even assuming you’re one of the single-digit percentage of the population who can function long-term on six hours sleep per night - what exactly are you hoping to discuss here? It’s the invincibility of youth. None of your associates and friends started out wanting to become an alcoholic, right? I certainly wasn’t interested in hearing the risks of my behavior when I was drinking and simply wouldn’t have believed them if someone told me. As a fellow recovering alcoholic puts it, I was a professional drinker. An expat businessman in Tokyo with an unlimited expense account. We couldn’t drink beer because it couldn’t get us drunk, we had to drink something heavier. I took pride in the amount of tolerance I had. Not all of us wound up as alcoholics. Some were able to stop. Others weren’t. Either way, we didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![RealTalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@RealTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTalk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/89 "2017-07-06T15:04:06Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > As a fellow recovering alcoholic puts it, I was a professional drinker. An expat businessman in Tokyo with an unlimited expense account. We couldn’t drink beer because it couldn’t get us drunk, we had to drink something heavier. I took pride in the amount of tolerance I had. Im being misled here, isn’t this considered “bragging”? As what most other people in this thread have claimed I am doing? I am also speaking in past tense as I have stated this was (currently) 1 month ago and have slowed down dramatically ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/90 "2017-07-06T18:22:42Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Go to bed at around 1am wake up at 7am study at 8am til 6pm… not that hard. And i dont have bad hangovers. > > Look guys, i have said this already. I have finished college with a double major in business finance. So studies wasnt an issue i brought up. Was that studying one day a week? I don’t study half that much and have a 3.927. Yet, you only had “average” grades. Either you have a learning disability or there’s a lot wrong with what you’re claiming here. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/91 "2017-07-06T18:55:46Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Go to bed at around 1am wake up at 7am study at 8am til 6pm… not that hard. And i dont have bad hangovers. > > Look guys, i have said this already. I have finished college with a double major in business finance. So studies wasnt an issue i brought up. If you have finished college, you should have a job, or at least be looking for one. Or are you worried that a job will cut into your drinking time? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/92 "2017-07-07T00:10:33Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Yeah Bill, I am 13 years old AND in high school… were you 40 when you attended high school? Sorry guy, it just seemed so silly all of a sudden. It’s like you came in here with a whole long post about how well you’re doing with women, a list of your conquests and beautiful women you’ve slept with, and then finished up with how much you enjoyed playing spin the bottle. I swear, when you mentioned your favorite drinking game I snorted so hard gin came out of my nose. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/93 "2017-07-07T00:59:56Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Sorry guy, it just seemed so silly all of a sudden. It’s like you came in here with a whole long post about how well you’re doing with women, a list of your conquests and beautiful women you’ve slept with, and then finished up with how much you enjoyed playing spin the bottle. I swear, when you mentioned your favorite drinking game I snorted so hard gin came out of my nose. I was at a party last week where people were playing Never Have I Ever. Not all of us were drinking (I was driving so I didn’t drink, someone else was a former drug addict and someone’s underage sister was there), but it was fairly amusing anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/94 "2017-07-07T01:34:32Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Im being misled here, isn’t this considered “bragging”? As what most other people in this thread have claimed I am doing? Nope. Nowhere has he specified exactly how much he was drinking, or how awesome he was because of it - unlike you, who have repeatedly brushed off “How the hell are you not in hospital or jail?” with variations on “Because I’m awesome, that’s why.” The way **TokyoBayer** talks, they’re realising that what they were doing wasn’t sustainable or something to be proud of (particularly as an actual adult). That’s totally different to “WOO YEAH I GOT SO FUCKED UP AND STILL GOT GRADUATED! FUCK YEAH PARTY AND BOOZE!” Also, I’ve repeatedly asked you to elaborate on what sort of “discussion” you’re hoping for here and you’ve completely failed to answer, which does rather suggest you are looking for validation rather than an intelligent discourse on alcohol and narcotics use/abuse. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/95 "2017-07-07T03:31:11Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > The way **TokyoBayer** talks, they’re realising that what they were doing wasn’t sustainable or something to be proud of (particularly as an actual adult). Well, some were able to recognize the problem before it led to considerable amounts of trouble. Unfortunately, I wasn’t, although it could have been worse. Not everyone in our circle who drank that much became alcoholics. None of those who became alcoholics were unemployable, homeless or lost their families. I’m one of the latter. (Some are still drinking so it could still happen to some of them.) I lost jobs and money but kept my family and health. Not all alcoholics are that lucky. However, a far higher percentage of those us who were heavy drinkers became alcoholics compared to the general population. And unfortunately, I can relate to “WOO YEAH I GOT SO FUCKED UP AND STILL GOT GRADUATED! FUCK YEAH PARTY AND BOOZE!” Although for me it was “WOO YEAH! I GOT SO FUCKED UP AND I’M RUNNING A COMPANY! FUCK YEAH PARTY AND BOOZE!” It’s just that I have to shake my head and wonder what the fuck was I thinking. Well, I wasn’t thinking. I don’t know if our OP can realize the danger. I didn’t and it didn’t matter what anyone said. I was invincible. Until I wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/96 "2017-07-07T05:29:48Z")
**RealTalk** , You came in putatively to ask these questions: > [@RealTalk](#): > > My friends and I drink/party at a very unhealthy rate. I want to know > if we are 1) normal, or 2) idiots/insane. (probably #2) … > > \ > > … How much did y’all drink or someone you know/knew drink during college? > I am concerned… Not sure how you found this forum and why you chose to ask these questions here. **Martini Enfield** has already wondered what sort of responses you were hoping or expecting to get. I’m wondering who you thought the crowd in this forum is. We are a varied bunch and maybe even a motley crew. We skew a maybe a bit older than the crowd you run with but we often prove that older is not always wiser. Still many people here have lived actual lives and have the scars to prove it. Some of us have been teetotalers and some had or have very moderate various habits of both the legal and illegal sort, comparatively “white bread”. Some have just gotten out of the hospital for suicide watch in the days of aftermath of being unable to be sober even for his wife’s funeral. Some have been gradually killing themselves for decades with narcotics and benzo abuse while inadequately caring for serious medical conditions and pathologically blaming their doctors for all that ails. Some are on the wagon alcoholics, some not so much so. We have an on the wagon alcoholic who makes a living providing medical care to those with substance abuse problems. Some who are very functional heavy drinkers and/or recreational drug users. Some have problems with food. We have academics and business people and people barely making ends meet. All that variety and that which is most in common is a distaste for those who are willfully ignorant. Your questions were answered. Pretty straightforward answers. No that is not normal and if not a complete bullshit claim such behaviors would be completely insane and idiotic. What you describe is way outside normal behaviors. Even the heaviest drinkers and users here, including ones who are likely on the road to killing themselves with their habits and who have caused major harms to their own lives and to others, and those who drink and/or use heavy to this day and still function, have not used in the amounts you describe has been your regular use. Much less has caused harm enough for some. Now I have no idea how much you actually drink and otherwise use. Seriously do not care. But you’ve happened to ask your questions to a crowd with a great deal of varied life experiences and you’ve been given some actual information. Ignore what’s been said and be willfully ignorant if you want. That’s your call. If you hang around here as one willfully ignorant though you should at least be prepared for the sorts of responses you are likely to get. (That said I am pretty shocked you did hang around here even past the one post. I would not have predicted that.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/97 "2017-07-07T10:42:26Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I swear, when you mentioned your favorite drinking game I snorted so hard gin came out of my nose. And I don’t even _drink_ gin! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/98 "2017-07-07T11:48:34Z")
> [@RealTalk](#): > > Anyways, I am surprised that not many people drink very heavily during the prime of their college life, or knew someone who has done so. I know you’re out there… People generally gravitates around people with a similar lifestyle and similar interests. College students who hardly ever party don’t realize that others do, and the other way around. When I compare notes about our youth with people my age (early 50s), differences are striking. Some were totally concentrated on their grades and future career, others were partying all week long. Some were political activists rethinking the world every day, others were travelling the world. Some were involved in long term romantic relationships, dreaming of love, others were making bets about how many girls they would fuck that month. Some were trying every single drug were was, others barely aware that you could buy pot. A normal fun night was playing RPG until dawn for some, dancing until dawn for others, and so on… The thing is, we all were part of some group of friends who behaved similarly to us, tended to assume that people behaving very differently were outliers, and we all thought we were mostly representative of people our age. For the record, regarding the OP, I fall in the “insane” camp. I was _sometimes_ drinking during my youth, and even got drunk a couple times. I translated beer/week into rhum/day, something I have a better grasp of, and, holy fuck, that’s about one bottle (75 cl) of rhum/day. I suspect that at this age, I was drinking in 6 months what he’s drinking in one week. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/99 "2017-07-07T13:11:26Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > People generally gravitates around people with a similar lifestyle and similar interests. College students who hardly ever party don’t realize that others do, and the other way around. > > When I compare notes about our youth with people my age (early 50s), differences are striking. Some were totally concentrated on their grades and future career, others were partying all week long. Some were political activists rethinking the world every day, others were travelling the world. Some were involved in long term romantic relationships, dreaming of love, others were making bets about how many girls they would fuck that month. Some were trying every single drug were was, others barely aware that you could buy pot. A normal fun night was playing RPG until dawn for some, dancing until dawn for others, and so on… > > The thing is, we all were part of some group of friends who behaved similarly to us, tended to assume that people behaving very differently were outliers, and we all thought we were mostly representative of people our age. > For the record, regarding the OP, I fall in the “insane” camp. I was _sometimes_ drinking during my youth, and even got drunk a couple times. I translated beer/week into rhum/day, something I have a better grasp of, and, holy fuck, that’s about one bottle (75 cl) of rhum/day. I suspect that at this age, I was drinking in 6 months what he’s drinking in one week. Do we even know what he’s drinking in one week? I have no idea although I don’t trust his self report. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183/100 "2017-07-07T13:29:22Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > Do we even know what he’s drinking in one week? I have no idea although I don’t trust his self report. Well, you don’t have any way to know unless you take as granted that he’s reporting truthfully. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-alcohol-consumption-and-partying-concerns/790183.md?page=6)