Alcohol should take the backseat to responsibilities

College students have various ways of celebrating events, holidays, and just having fun with friends. However, a recurring theme I have noticed in my four and a half years at Chadron State College is the constant partying and alcohol consumption.

Now before you throw the paper down thinking, “She’s just going to lecture about why I shouldn’t drink,” read this in its entirety. I am not saying college students need to stop going out to parties and drinking, because no one would take me seriously and I would waste my time. I also know throwing facts, laws, and various other information at students will not keep students from drinking and partying whenever he or she feels.

Also, before I am called a hypocrite, yes I drink. However, I am 23 and drink rarely. I do not drink every weekend, and I am responsible about when I do, where I drink at, whom I’m with, and many other aspects of drinking. My responsibilities the following day also aid in my decision to drink the night before.

Alcohol should also not be an excuse to get out of responsibilities or pass them off onto someone else to handle. Whether you are an athlete, a regular full time student, a parent taking classes, or involved in organizations on campus along with classes, those responsibilities that you have already devoted to should come well before drinking and partying.

There have been instances in the past and even this semester where people I am involved in organizations with, do not want to complete their work in a fashionable manner or believe that something should be done quickly, and poorly, because he or she wishes to go home and prepare for the party that night. This is unacceptable behavior for anyone to have, ever. If this is your mind set, I have breaking news for you, this won’t work in the “real world” once you get an adult job. Passing your work onto someone else to complete or hurrying through it so you can drink at the bar with your friends is not something your coworkers or managers will deal with.

I know many people on this campus who do not drink, or some that do but only in small quantities and very seldom. They also tend to be some of the more responsible and respectable people on this campus; I am not saying there is a connection between these, but simply an observation. It worries me that many students here focus solely on drinking and partying with their friends, no matter the day of the week, and the work the following day reflects it.

A main concern I have for students is the lifestyle that he or she may fall into if a change isn’t made. Consuming alcohol every weekend will have negative effects on a person in the long run. Drinking is something that occurs in college, and I understand that.

I have learned valuable lessons regarding alcohol consumption through watching my friends, and also watching people in my life rely on alcohol. I have seen some of the negative side effects alcohol can have on someone’s life. Families may be torn and it affects everyone in the long run. Also, drinking too much and too often has effects on one’s body that is hard to reverse.

I watched as someone I was close with drank every weekend Thursday through Saturday, which may not seem like much, but the amount and the occurrence of every weekend has lasting effects. His body began shutting down on him and he was constantly having health problems, however, would never listen to advice from friends or get help. He lost one of the best jobs he had due to drinking, lost friends, and got in trouble with the law multiple times from alcohol.

I have seen many posts and comments on various social media outlets all semester long regarding parties that happened or will happen, and it is almost a daily occurrence. Instead of drinking or going to a party, have a dinner and movie night with friends, it may even be cheaper than buying all that alcohol. There are a variety of activities on campus and in the surrounding area of Chadron so people do not always have to resort to alcohol.

I am not asking people to stop drinking and partying because I know that won’t happen. However, students at CSC need to take a hard look at the focus on alcohol and make a change about its importance.