College Drinking: Article Analysis

Four out of five college students are drinking alcohol according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, yet it is only now coming to the attention of many people. Recently we see more and more news articles about college drinking. I’ve always known drinking alcohol is dangerous and that it is the cause for many accidents and deaths. However, I wasn’t aware that so many young people were drinking and putting themselves at risk like they are. After reading the two articles “Fall Semester—A Time for Parents to Discuss the Risks of College Drinking” and “Studying College Alcohol Use: Widening the lens, Sharpening the Focus” my knowledge on college drinking has increased significantly. The first article I read was “Studying

It is obvious the intended audience are parents, teachers, students, or anyone who is interested in knowing information by numbers. In the introduction of the article, it gives many statistics which grabs the reader 's’ attention while also giving useful facts. For example, I learned that college students drinking alone causes “an estimated 1,825 student deaths, 696,000 assaults by another student who has been drinking, and 97,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year” (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) and those numbers scare me but it is good to know what is happening around me. I also read that the first couple of weeks of school are the most important. Many kids drink very heavily at this time and I believe it is because they feel as though they are freed from their parents. Personally, I know I am not free from responsibilities no matter how far I am from home. College drinking sounds more of a bad thing then a fun one after reading this article. In all, both articles on college drinking are very informative; However, the audience for both are different and most people would find “Fall Semester—A Time for Parents to Discuss the Risks of College Drinking” more interesting. It is important to know about college drinking and the risks students are putting themselves into because tragedies dealing with alcohol on school campuses are happening so often. If everyone is informed the right way, as appose to making it uncomfortable, we could stop violence and accidents associated with college