Recent news stories out of Nova Scotia, Canada have brought into the light the issues surrounding young people and drinking. Over the past weekend emergency crews were called to Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia when a young female student passed out from drinking too much. When crews arrived they examined six people for drinking and four where hospitalized over night due to alcohol poisoning. The partying at Acadia University is not an unusual activity for university students, but it highlights what seems to be a growing problem of binge drinking by young, inexperienced people in some universities.
In contrast, in a recent article form the McGill Daily (http://www.mcgilldaily.com/accounts/13/articles/20162) discusses the introduction of the alcohol culture of Montreal, Quebec where McGill university is located and legal drinking age is 18, to first year students. The artical makes the arguement that this benfits the students by teaching them about a society that includes alcohol - national surveys seems to back this up.
I too was once a young lad, fresh to a new town and barely the legal drinkning age (I admit nothing of drinking underage...) and yes, I did indulge in the drink more then one should, but I never ended up in a hospital or jail. I do think that each of us has to discover what it means to be independent and an adult, and in most societies around the world alcohol is part of the culture, but is this being taken to far? Is peer pressure form Frosh activities and other students having too much influence on some young people?
I'd like to comment on this but I'm pretty loaded.
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