Binge drinking is primarily a male problem, but it effects everyone around them, said Peter Nathan, distinguished professor of psychology at the University of Iowa.

In a Wechsler study conducted in 1994 on U of I students, 46.8 percent met the criteria of a binge drinker, Nathan said during a lecture Wednesday. “Men drink more than women and are more likely to meet binge drinking criteria,” he said. “Binge drinking is predominately a male problem, but the consequences are not. The over-drinking that men do affects everyone around them. The consequences of binge drinking is not limited to the drinker.”

Binge drinking is the consumption of four or more drinks in a setting for a female, or five or more drinks in a setting for a male. Binge drinking has major effects on students.

“There’s a lot of binge drinking going on, but it’s not necessarily a problem,” said Jonathan Joslyn, freshman at the U of I.

There are many consequences of binge drinking, from unwanted sex to serious automobile accidents, Nathan said. Nationwide, 54 percent of college student binge drinkers forgot where they were and what they did when they binged, according to studies.

In the Wechsler study of U of I students, 67.9 percent of males did something they regretted, and 58.6 percent of females did something they regretted, Nathan said.

“Some groups of students drink more than others,” he said. “For example, members of the greek system are more likely to drink than non-greeks but are no more likely to binge drink.”

Iowa State is a candidate for being a binge drinking school, he said, but the University of Iowa is even more at risk. There are 56 alcohol outlets within a mile of the University of Iowa campus.

The age limit to get into Iowa City bars is 18. Increasing the age limit to 21 would decrease drinking by students at the University of Iowa, because 80 percent to 85 percent of the drinking done by students occurs in the bars, Nathan said. This would cause one-fourth to one-third of the bars in Iowa City to go bankrupt.

“I think raising the age limit to 21 to get into the bars is a bad idea,” Joslyn said. “House parties will increase, and students will drink no matter what. As long as people drink in the bars, there are bouncers and police protection.”

ISU students and faculty were interested about what Nathan had to say and eager to ask questions throughout the presentation.

Shawn Distefano, sophomore in exercise and sport science, said the presentation was very informative. “Drinking is a problem for all undergraduates,” said Brett Williams, junior in pre-business.

Nathan said drinking will never go away.

“The binge drinking problems for students in universities who meet binge drinking criteria will never go away,” Nathan said. “Giving students information on the effects of alcohol does not affect their drinking habits, it just makes them better informed binge drinkers.”