To binge or not to binge: American college drinking culture

Let me paint you a picture: After a very long week of homework and classes, Friday is finally here. Done-up college students file into tiny living spaces to “pregame” the night, essentially getting drunk in preparation for getting even drunker later at the party. One student asks her friends to motivate her to take a shot of New Amsterdam vodka. Her face contorts violently as it goes down, and her friends applaud her bravery. The group downs as many mixed drinks, beers and shots as it takes to feel drunk enough to eliminate the possibility of sobering up at the function (how frightening). On the trek to who knows which fraternity, the group stumbles and giggles and occasionally stops to piss on a stranger’s front lawn. After arriving at the party, they head straight to the bar to get inebriated enough to last them through the night.