Daphnie Vega
[email protected]
“Thirsty Thursday,” a term used on most college campuses, gives students an excuse to party and drink Thursday nights to Friday mornings.
Many college students stay on campus to experience “the college experience.” So what comes with this? Drinking, partying and being the most well-known; but how harmful is alcohol for your body?
Both faculty and students are aware of the coined phrase, “Thirsty Thursday,” but are you willing to
put everything on the line to have a couple drinks with your friends?
Underage drinking is a serious offence and according to the Pennsylvania Law those who are caught underage drinking can serve some of the following consequences:
Suspension of Driver’s License
• 90 days for the first conviction
•1 year for a second conviction
•2 years for a third/fourth/fifth/etc. conviction
•You may qualify for an OLL, or “Occupational Limited License,” which would allow you to drive only for work-related activities.
•If you don’t have a driver’s license when you are convicted, you will be prohibited from applying for a learner’s permit for the period of time your license would have been suspended had you had a license.
Other consequences include fines, community service, and attending an alcohol information class.
Why go through all that hassle for a couple hours of feeling “buzzed”?
Not only can you get into trouble with the law but when you are under the influence you are more likely to be sexually or physically assaulted. You might be thinking “so what if I have to pay a fine if I get caught?” What if the fine that you had to pay followed you everywhere for the rest of your life?
Most students on campus said that “Thirsty Thursday” was the best day of the week, yet not one knew that getting caught with alcohol meant getting their driver’s license can be revoked.
Stephen Demko, an police officer on campus, said the number one offense that students commit is underage drinking. Police know most college students drink and to decrease the cases of underage drinking they want to make clear the consequences of alcohol use through a longer period of time.
Health risks include:
•Cancer of the throat, esophagus or larynx. Regularly drinking two large glasses of wine or two pints of strong lager a day could make you three times as likely to get mouth cancer.
•Breast cancer in women. Regularly drinking just above the guidelines increases the risk of getting breast cancer by around 20 percent
•A stroke
•Heart disease or an irregular heartbeat, which can lead to a heart attack
•High blood pressure
•Liver disease such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. If you regularly drink just above the lower-risk guidelines, the risk of liver cirrhosis increases 1.7 times
•Pancreatitis
Alcohol can lead to many problems in the future, so think about the present to ensure that your future is what you want it to be and not a result of what you did ten years ago on “Thirsty Thursday.” Rethink Thursday nights.
So this week, stop and think before you pick up a drink. You can still have fun with your friends on Thursday nights, just be sober.
There’s also State Patty’s Day at UPark which puts Melrose parties to shame. This State Patty’s Day event at UPark is Feb. 23 and authorities are well aware that commonwealth campuses plan to drive to Main Campus for the all day and night drinking party.
State Patty’s Day is a “holiday” created by Penn State students in 2007. Many students begin lining up outside of bars and drinking as early as 6 a.m. to celebrate. The festivities last the entire day as students wearing green show up drunk to class, or don’t go at all. Many parties are held at night, featuring green beer and green jungle juice.
This year Ben Clark, from the Council of Commonwealth Student Goverments, sent out emails announcing that heavy fines and stricter rules will be in place for State Patty’s Day.