Student of Acadia dies from binge drinking

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

I wanted to post this sometime ago, but was otherwise occupied.

 

I live in a university town, binge drinking is nothing new around here. But I would like to see the city step up to the plate and force our bar's and bar tender's to be more responsable in there business.

A few places even serve the beer on student night's in a plastic cup!! Cheep cheep beer and shots! For God's sake if you need to drink your beer from a sippy cup, it is time to go home! And shame on the bar's to allow this type of behavior!! Bar's need to be accountable for for these young people who have nearly no experience in drinking and out from the nest for the first time.

 

And that's my rant.....lol.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Just for clarity on the death of the Acadia student, he was not at a bar. He was in his university dorm, and died after having played a drinking game. Residence monitors in each student dorm at Acadia are required to keep an eye on anyone who appears to be drinking heavily. Acadia has more than 60 student staff working in the residence system. Teams of students are on duty every night monitoring activities within the residences, and it was student staff who found the student in distress in his room. The university says it will be reviewing its policies and procedures for monitoring heavy drinking by students in their dorms.

 

This observation about this particular tragic case is not meant to detract from Sophia's opinion about whether or not bars are generally currently held accountable for what goes on in their establishments.

[Boomer 33202]

I suspect they might already have some responsibility.

 

In the case of driving there have been cases that have gone to court when a host of a party or bartender has allowed patrons to continue drinking when they are known to have driven and may want to go home the same way. If there were a test case bought by the police and prosecutor I think that they might find some negligence, and things would change. It only takes one courageous prosecutor with the resources to establish a precedent.

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

Yes, true this student died in the dorm's. But I think it is wrong to encourage this type of drinking, it is like the bar's want to say" hey man, it is perfectly O.K. to over induldge...have fun!" It is like they are saying it is normal to sit and have 15 beer's in an hour, or 10 shots of tequila in 10 min. This is not what I call responsible drinking. So they go out every Thursday get shit faced time and time again, eventually they assume this is normal behavior, and then they find it cheaper yet to drink in the dorm's so they turn around and push the limit a little bit more.....till something like this happens:(

[Kyra.Graves 23779]

A few places even serve the beer on student night's in a plastic cup!! Cheep cheep beer and shots! For God's sake if you need to drink your beer from a sippy cup, it is time to go home!

 

I am not sure I understand the correlation between serving in a plastic cup and binge drinking, could you clarify?

 

I agree that binge drinking is a problem and that University culture among the students tends to encourage it but if they are drinking (legally) then it's also the students responsibility to manage their drinking and related actions. Yes a bar should stop excessive serving of alcohol but if that student goes home to drink who else is to be responsible for that other than the student? There are already laws in place to keep children from drinking but I believe adults need to take responsibility for their own actions.

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

As for the plastic cup statement...I had asked the bartender to a pub, I was there on Cheep Student Night, I asked why are they serving in plastic cups? I was answered " because it is student night, and beer is cheep they will end up breaking our glasses.

Although I agree with you on the fact we are adults at 19, and need to be responsible for our selves. But is there not bylaws or something that states, a bartender is not to serve to a customer once they have become intoxicated?

[Claire Heavens 51771]

I once visited the small town of acadians, Tracadie sheila. It was a gorgeous lil place. It is very sad that this poor young person has died. unfortunately, I doubt the troubles young teens face regarding drinking will ever cease to exist, but the more they hear of these tragedies I hope that they will realize they are not invinceable and that there is always a consequence for every action. The poor parents........ :(

[Peachka 4334]

These days (as oppopsed to 20-30 years ago) young people are drinking hard liqour straight up (as opposed to mix with it) much more. I think another problem is that since alcohol is legal, people tend to think that it may not be as harmfull as it is. Everything in moderation.

[PistolPete 61421]

The young crowd today apparently enjoy mixing a strong energy drink with hard liquor. Energy drinks and a strong liquor can be dangerous. It is mixing an upper with a downer and sometimes the young body and heart can't handle the combo. Sad news about the 19 year old, first year of University and did not even attend a class, RIP and I feel for his parents too.

[April Dawn 12207]

I've seen bars in Regina serve people after they have puked in a corner or are holding onto the bar to keep upright. I don't think enough bars or bartenders care about anything other then profit and who tips better then a drunk person. I am a medical first responder (I highly recommend anyone who can afford it take the course) and have had to provide assistance so many times and call ambulances for patrons. It makes me sad that cash is more important then human life.

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[Guest f***2f***]

I was sad to see this on the news like everyone else here was. I remember my student days and it was no different. We had a lot of wild out of control drinking parties and the lectures from health officials, university officials and parents were things we scoffed at. It's the folly or youth I'm afraid...they are bullet proof and it will never happen to them!

 

Somewhere around halfway through second year I got sick and tired or being sick and tired!

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

I was sad to see this on the news like everyone else here was. I remember my student days and it was no different. We had a lot of wild out of control drinking parties and the lectures from health officials, university officials and parents were things we scoffed at. It's the folly or youth I'm afraid...they are bullet proof and it will never happen to them!

 

Somewhere around halfway through second year I got sick and tired or being sick and tired!

 

So true!! Thats's all I got.....So true!

[Katherine of Halifax 113932]

Its the same here in Halifax, now that school is in its very apparent the bar and of course the government only cares about profit.

 

I was out last week and a kid fell on the floor, he was so drunk his friends had to help him up. This particular bar has heavy security, they are all around, no one came over to escort him out.

 

Bars in Halifax say they support responsible drinking but clearly they do not. :icon_sad:

[Guest f***2f***]

Its the same here in Halifax, now that school is in its very apparent the bar and of course the government only cares about profit.

 

I was out last week and a kid fell on the floor, he was so drunk his friends had to help him up. This particular bar has heavy security, they are all around, no one came over to escort him out.

 

Bars in Halifax say they support responsible drinking but clearly they do not. :icon_sad:

 

the security folks are too busy walking around looking tough to discourage violence and they tend to target people they think might be too loud etc. My son is a body builder and they used to regularly harass him and find an excuse to try and take him on. He got to the point where he just stopped going to places like the Liquor Dome....which I was really glad of...what a freaking dump!!

[SamanthaEvans 166767]

I wonder where others here learned to drink, and what made a difference for us?

 

I learned to drink at home. It's one of the good things my mother did for me. She told stories from her youth, being invited to parties and always having someone put a full glass of something in her hand. One very funny story was about a date she went on where the guy kept bringing her drinks made with rum and fruit juices. She knew what the effects of alcohol were, though, because she and her sister had been sneaking drinks from their father's liquor cabinet for years. My mom kept pouring her drink into nearby potted plant all evening. Her date was disappointed that she didn't get drunk. She said that the potted plant didn't look very good the next time she saw it.

 

Anyway, my mom taught me about drinking, at home, so that I could go to parties safely. The liquor cabinet was open. There were mixers in the fridge. There was no mystery or secrecy, no glamour or glory, either. I think it made a difference, for me. I've done the same thing with my own kids, too, and that's worked pretty well, so far.

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

Well, I started to drink rather late, I must have been 24 before I had my first glass of wine...( like very much now I might add....lol). My parents drank often and heavily when growing up. so perhaps it was that fact that steared me away till I was older.

I always had a strong sence of my own personal limitations with drinking. I seem to be the one who keeps a clear head, and walks a straight line and the end of the night. Mind you did learn a few hard lessons with nasty hangover's too!! lol.

Had I been involved with the university culture perhaps I would have fallowed thoes same binge drinking habits we see on the rise today, who know's?? I would like to think not though.

[Guest tr*****e]

I grew up with some Unibroue products(BEST. BEER. EVER!!!!), and some champagne. I got to see what happened when my dad got drunk, so I realized fairly early that moderation is key. I hope stories like Samantha's become more common, though. Teaching a child the proper middle ground is the best thing to teach them. Not fanatical self-deprivation, not indulgence to the limit either. Being satisfied with safety's where it's at!

 

Btw, I'm not advocating any sort of moderation with any sort potentially harmful drugs. I've not had any of the illegal sort, and don't want to try.

[Andee 220524]

When I went to Ryerson, they had a picnic on Toronto Island and one kid drowned when he fell off the ferry. He was intoxicated. That was back in 1984, and it seems things have not changed much since then when it comes to first week of university/college.

[Daniel17 3616]

Actually, I feel this certification is a joke. My friends got it to serve beer at a festival this summer. It costs $100 and is an online test that takes under an hour to complete.

 

Maybe a more thorough certification is in order? You could limit how much alcohol a person can buy at one time but then the light drinkers could buy for the heavier ones. Its really a hard thing to police among adults.

 

In terms of health women should not have more than 1 drink a day and men 2 a day. More than that is linked to breast cancer in women and other illnesses.

 

Our culture encourages binge drinking and personal responsibility. It is a tricky line to walk indeed.

 

Agreed. The concept is a good idea, but in reality it is a joke. I got my smart serve a couple years ago when I was in university, and finished the test in about 20 minutes. It isn't rock science to pass the rest.

 

Also too, when a lot of the pubs/restaurants that I worked at just asked if I had my smart serve, and never asked for the certification # or any of that. Some of them didn't even ask.

 

I do agree though that something needs to be done about it. You think managers/bartenders/door men etc. would just have some common sense, but unfortunately a majority of the time they don't, they are just thinking about making money.

[Guest s******ecan****]

Ultimately this is a matter of personal responsibility. Someone who is intent on drinking to excess will always find a way.

[Kyra.Graves 23779]

As for the plastic cup statement...I had asked the bartender to a pub, I was there on Cheep Student Night, I asked why are they serving in plastic cups? I was answered " because it is student night, and beer is cheep they will end up breaking our glasses.

Although I agree with you on the fact we are adults at 19, and need to be responsible for our selves. But is there not bylaws or something that states, a bartender is not to serve to a customer once they have become intoxicated?

 

Personally I think we place too much blame on the industry and not enough on personal responsibility, short of providing breathalizers for each drink served I don't think there is a definitive way to tell what is too much in a person, let alone a young person. We all think of drinking too much as slurring, unsteadiness, drowsiness... but in youth these symptoms tend not to show in youth until they have drank a very large quantity of alcohol, often students think of it as hitting a wall - they are feeling okay and in control then one drink later they are throwing up and passing out. In adults the effects of inebriation show much earlier and gradually, hence the belief that "I can't hold alcohol like I used too" when in fact it's most likely a difference in brain chemistry. Of course if you add that to the fact that different drinks have different percentages of alcohol that will be absorbed in an individual at different rates and I don't think it's possible for a server to track that for each individual they serve in a day.

 

So what's the solution? Honestly I don't know but I think we would need to not only educate kids before they are exposed to alcohol about how alcohol will affect them but also change the culture surrounding it, after all I think if you told teenagers that they can generally drink more than adults with less impairment they would do it rather than see that as a sign to keep away from it. When we are young we feel invincible but as adults we start to see our own mortality and make decisions based on it.

 

I'm attaching this link both for reference and it might be of interest if someone has an hour to watch it - http://motionempire.com/Watch_BBC_Horizon_Do_I_Drink_Too_Much_-2009-_Documentary_Online_for_Free_96406.html

 

As for the plastic cups, I just think that's a smart business decision. When my nieces and nephews come over I give them plastic cups, they aren't drinking but I know they are a lot less mindful of the glassware than my parents (who are drinking) will be. In general I broke a lot more dishes when I was a young adult than I do now and in different ways, the younger I was the more likely I would not be paying attention to where my cup was and knock it over but now I most frequently break glasses when doing the dishes (which sucks - I hate losing the shards in the water!)

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

Thank you Kyra, for the well thought out post, however we do slightly view it differently. I appreciate your research and time you had put into it. I suppose I just see so much of this binging lately it makes sad and worried for so many of them. Just the other day, my GF and I were out, and this Young girl was falling down in a alleyway. She was so intoxicated she had no clue even where she lived! Alone in alleyway, 2pm...There was a group of equally drunk young men standing not far from her, all watching her, waiting for her to drop.I couldn't leave her there, so I invited her home with me for the night. Slept on my couch. I placed a note on the coffee table so if she woke she would not be scared, in the note explained how and why I found her. Let her know she was safe, not to be frightened. Later when she awoke, she was so embarrassed and so grateful I had taken her home. She said she will learn from that experience and I hope she really did.

[hockey 683]

This story has hit close to home for me as I have a daughter who has just commenced her first year at St. FX University in Nova Scotia. Despite how much trust, communication and knowledge that we have all passed on to our children, we do fear such incidents as what occurred at Acadia.

 

Word passed very quickly among all of the universities here on the east coast as my daughter told me about this incident before it was publicly announced. Such incidents are taken very seriously by all universities and I do know that events for frosh week have changed significantly since I had attended university in Ontario. When I attended university, a large number of events were actually planned around drinking such as pub crawls, first pub night and beer parties planned in the residences.

 

The current frosh events at St FX (and most other universities I suspect) evolve around team building, personal development and making the transition to university life as easy as possible for all students. No doubt there is still a significant amount of drinking (and some to excess) and most of us have had our moments of such, but we do need to give credit to the schools for not encouraging alcohol as a key part of the frosh week events.

 

Yes, binge drinking and unfortunate events will happen again, but if the schools continue to shy away from promoting such events, and we continue to educate young students as to the dangers and impacts, such events may be rare and let's hope a non-occurrence.

[roamingguy 300292]

I find there is too much emphasis on blaming someone else

If you as an adult drink, why is it someone else's fault that you drank too much

If you chose to smoke, why is it the tobacco companies fault you are addicted to cigarettes

I could cite other examples but the gist of my argument is at some point in an adults life, he/she is responsible for his/her actions.

People of 18-19 years old are old enough to vote

Old enough to work

They are old enough to join the military and possibly go to war

But they aren't old enough to take personal responsibilty when they drink...then it's someone else's responsibilty

My 2 cents

RG

[Kyra.Graves 23779]

Thank you Kyra, for the well thought out post, however we do slightly view it differently. I appreciate your research and time you had put into it. I suppose I just see so much of this binging lately it makes sad and worried for so many of them.

 

Thanks I'll take that compliment but I didn't really do any research for the post if I had I would have quoted the Pub Med articles but I was far too lazy for that. I do still think the doc is worth a watch, it's two years old so for some it might seem a bit out of date as science moves pretty fast but it does show some pretty interesting research into why people drink.

 

In regards to differing views, I honestly am not sure I understand what position you take in regards to alcohol consumption and perhaps you could explain further.

From what I can gather you are against binge drinking, I get that and so am I. I don't know how you feel about alcohol on a whole, if you are advocating a dry state or making it a controlled substance, perhaps you could clarify. I also gather you want responsibility placed on the individual who sells alcohol (or state?) in order to prevent the (over) consumption of alcohol in individuals. If this is correct could you please tell me how you see that being implemented? I don't see how that is feasible given the way alcohol is processed and impairs individuals differently but I am interested in hearing your ideas in resolving the issue.

 

I understand that the individual circumstances you have cited are upsetting for you and I also believe they are symptoms of a larger problem, I guess I would like to know what resolution you envision.