Thursday, March 15, 2007

Sloshkosh is not alone: Wisconsin Awash in Booze

This is really not a new story, but data once again shows that Wisconsin has one of the highest drinking rates in the country.

According to the survey, 39.5% of underaged Wisconsinites admitted to drinking in 2005. It also had the highest rate of alcohol use among people 18-25 at over 75%.

This might not be so bad if the drinking occurred in moderation, but we know it is coupled with one of the highest binge drinking rates(28%, up from the 2004 survey).

I suppose it could make us feel better to know that college students across the whole state take part in such behavior. However, as St. Patrick's day approaches, we know that we have a particularly bad reputation as a party school.

Why are we the worst in the country? Is it the northern clime? The German heritage? Unfortunately, it affects our students and their academic success profoundly. If you have ever paid attention to how empty classrooms are on Friday mornings, you know students are putting their drinking far ahead of their studies.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It might be the fact that if you tell anyone around here that you don't drink, they look at you as if you have some sort of psychological disorder. If college students think they've outgrown peer pressure, they're kidding themselves.

Anonymous said...

I don't drink and no one says crap about it to me at the bars .