Responsibility and alcohol a simple union to create

By Drayton Thomas     2/24/11 6:00pm

I am 19 years old. The United States drinking age is 21. Needless to say, I come up short of being able to legally drink alcohol in the U.S. So, since it is illegal for me to drink, I do not. But, if I did drink, then I would be responsible about it. If I drank alcohol, then first, I would be mindful of the dangers of the "pre-game." The pre-game usually involves drinking rapidly to achieve a desired level of intoxication prior to a party. What many do not consider is that they will probably drink more at the party, and thus should take this fact into consideration. I would realize this fact, and not pre-game to the point of endgame intoxication. If I drank, then I would include in my pre-game food and water. I would understand that drinking on an empty stomach can lead to an increased rate of intoxication, and thus many problems could arise.

If I drank alcohol, then I would champion the "buddy system." It is not just for little kids on elementary school field trips. It can save lives. If I were the half of the buddy pair who was intoxicated, I would inform my friend that I was nearing a dangerous threshold before I reached it. If I became separated from my buddy, then I would drunk text, call and/or knock. At least this way, he would know where I was and if I needed help. If my buddy was drunk, then I would remain in a coherent state of mind, because then my judgment would need to be solid. I would remember that I was the sober one, and therefore would not let my drunk friend persuade me to let him consume more alcohol. If I saw a random drunk person walking alone on campus, then I would not chuckle to myself and my friends. I would realize that this random person may be in trouble, and I would not want him to turn into a case in which RUPD finds an abandoned, passed out student. Also, if my friend got out of my control, and I did not know whether or not EMS was required, I would call EMS anyway, as I know I will not get in trouble and a second opinion from someone well-trained cannot hurt.

If I drank alcohol, then I would remember to be responsible for myself. I would count the number of standard drinks that I had. If I came across a drink of unknown potency, I would not drink it since I could not accurately count it. I would know the difference between different types of alcohol. Vodka and grain alcohol are very different. Grain alcohol, such as Mohawk or Everclear, has roughly twice the alcohol concentration of normal hard liquor. Furthermore, I would realize that my tolerance is not the same as anyone else's. That in mind, I would neither expect someone to drink as much as me nor try to drink as much as someone else. Before considering doing anything such as climbing a tree, I would ask myself: "What would sober me do?" I would realize that most of the time, sober me would not do it.

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If I drank alcohol, I would be mindful of the various drinking games. These games should be played with beer, not liquor. I would have observed that a game such as beer pong can result in less drinking overall than the absence of a drinking game. However, games such as flip cup, sink the booze, circle of death and power hour usually involve an increased rate and quantity of drinking. Having noted that, I would be extra cautious when playing any of those games.

If I drank alcohol, then I might decide to host a party that involved alcohol. If it involved a keg, punch or more than a handle of liquor, then I would inform my college's Chief Justice in advance. Prior to anything that could reasonably be called a party (e.g. not just drinking a few beers while watching a game), I would have a talk with my Chief Justice and go over how I expected the party to go, and what he expected from me. If I made punch, then I would label it with its alcohol content. I got into Rice, so it would not be difficult for me to calculate a conversion ratio, e.g. one cup of punch equals x cups of beer. I would ensure that the punch was made by a sober person, and not just a drunken me or friend wildly dumping booze and mixers into a cooler. I would also make available a source of water, in a separate cooler or otherwise. I would definitely consider using smaller cups to slow down alcohol consumption. If I drank alcohol, then I might host a stop on a crawl. Since many crawls have eleven stops, I would make sure that several stops on the crawl involved food and water instead of alcohol. I would also inform my Chief Justice that I was hosting a stop at my college, in order to prevent any out of control behavior and/or property damage.

If I drank, then I would do my best to follow these guidelines, and to listen to my friends if they told me I had had too much. I would also look out for my friends, and cut them off if needed. I would acknowledge that while drinking can be very fun, it can also be very dangerous. What would you do?

Drayton Thomas is a Duncan College freshman.

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