With VEISHEA less than a week away, some students anticipate excessive drinking, blackouts and hangovers. However, with April being Alcohol Awareness Month, students need to consider the medical, personal and social consequences of binge drinking.

Lauri Dusselier, manager of Prevention Services at Thielen Student Health Center, said drinking alcohol affects students in a variety of ways.

“Academic performance can be affected because memory is impaired for a few days following drinking. If students don’t feel well after drinking or require extra rest to recover, they won’t be as productive as if they weren’t otherwise impaired,” Dusselier said. “Drinking may contribute to stress if conflicts occur in friendships and significant relationships, or if people engage in violence, unplanned or unwanted sexual activity.”

Alcohol can also create problems for students who do not drink.

“Student drinking also affects non-drinkers if there is disruption to studying or sleeping, interpersonal conflicts, violence or car accidents,” Dusselier said.

Binge drinking is defined as drinking five or more alcoholic drinks within a short period of time. For women, the number is reduced to four or more drinks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention associates binge drinking with several health risks, including high blood pressure, liver disease, neurological damage, sexually transmitted diseases and unintentional and intentional injury.

Body weight, gender, drugs, age and food consumption all influence the absorption of alcohol.

Women should take extra caution when drinking.

“Women become more impaired than men do after drinking the same amount of alcohol, even when differences in body weight are taken into account,” according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “This is because women’s bodies have less water than men’s bodies. Because alcohol mixes with body water, a given amount of alcohol becomes more highly concentrated in a woman’s body than in a man’s.”

In addition, alcohol dependence and related medical problems progress more rapidly in women than in men.

Dusselier said students who choose to drink during VEISHEA should “plan ahead so you can have a safe, healthy and fun experience.”

“Make a plan with your friends about where you’re going, who’s driving and how you’ll communicate with each other when you’re ready to leave,” Dusselier said. “Be sure to keep track of each other and speak up if someone is pressuring someone to drink or do something they wouldn’t otherwise do.”

Dusselier recommends eating before going out. If students choose to drink, they should alternate non-alcoholic beverages with their drinks.

She also encourages students to drink responsibly and be aware of the signs of alcohol poisoning.

“If a person is unconscious, breathing less than eight times a minute or has repeated, uncontrolled vomiting, call 911 immediately,” Dusselier said.

Because alcohol poisoning affects the gag reflex, do not encourage a person to vomit. A person can choke on his or her own vomit or inhale vomit into the lungs, which can result in death.

There are several resources on campus to help students. The Prevention Services uses a three-in-one framework to focus on individuals, the student body and the community surrounding campus. The department collaborates with the campus and community partners to ensure comprehensive prevention efforts are in place.

“There are great prevention efforts in place in our community, including server training for bar employees and ID checking,” Dusselier said. “The Judicial Affairs office and Department of Residence are effective in working with students who receive alcohol violations and helping reduce their risky drinking behaviors.”

Starting this summer, the university will implement online education for all incoming first-year students.