Many of you may remember my article from a week and a half ago in which I discussed being careful with your drinking.
I told first-years to stay out of frats, keep blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels below .15, and just be careful. You don't want to screw things up when you are only a first-year.
I have experienced some of this first hand, and I am going to tell you how to avoid a terrible mistake as well as discuss what the consequences will be if you do.
The first thing to avoid if you don't want to ride in an ambulance is to stay away from hard liquor. It gets into your system so fast that you don't know what hit you.
Taking even a couple shots in a small amount of time can be the start to a long night. Take it slow and remember, it's not how much you drink, its how fast you drink.
Your body processes one drink in about an hour, so taking five shots in a ten-minute period takes five hours to erase itself from your body. Slow down and use drinking as a way to be social, not a way to get drunk.
The second tip I will give you is to always be with people you trust. It is important to have friends with you that care about your well being and would be willing to assist you if anything out of the ordinary were to occur. You may get mad at someone for calling you in, but when you take that choice away from yourself ny drinking in excess, blaming others for making a judgment call is not an option. If you are sober enough to make your own judgment calls, others won't have to make those decisions for you.
The last tip is to not let people pressure you into doing things that you don't want to do. The most important thing is to only do things that you are comfortable with, and this doesn't only pertain to drinking.
If you limit yourself to what you want and not what others want, you will be happier with yourself. If you let others tell you what to do, you may find yourself in trouble more often.
That being said, if you do find yourself in an alcohol related incident, you can expect serious consequences. You will likely get between 8-16 weeks of probation and meet with Community Standards multiple times. Do anything you can to avoid those meetings. Although they are necessary, they are not fun and make you feel terrible about yourself.
If you are involved in extra-curriculars, more specifically athletics, expect punishment in those areas as well. A suspension from team activities or from competition is normal.
If you are one of those people who makes some bad decisions on a particular night, use it as a learning experience. After experiencing the repercussions from an experience, don't let it happen a second time.
I hope you first-years take this to heart and try your best to stay out of trouble. We are all new to this community and it's important to be smart about your decisions. Getting into serious trouble will happen when you least expect it, so always be careful and never do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Enjoy college life and make good choices.
--Mauk is a freshman from St. Louis, Mo. whose major is still undecided.