Weekly Wellness: Tips to Tame the Three Stooges

Capt Mo, Jack Daniels, and Jose Cuervo

A Canadian campus survey, conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, reported students at Atlantic Canadian universities are almost fifteen per cent more likely to encounter problem drinking than the rest of the country.

Alcohol stems back to the Neolithic Era and has remained a prominent part of society to this day. This depressant is deeply rooted in society and is very common at social gatherings.

In September 2011, nineteen year old student Jonathan Andrews died after a night of dorm room drinking games during his first week at Acadia University. According to Maclean’s magazine, he had told his parents that he wanted to “make as many friends during the very important first few weeks on campus.”

In 2010, Maclean’s also stated that Queen’s University felt the wrath of alcohol when Cameron Bruce fell out of a sixth floor window of his residence building during orientation week. Later that year, another Queen’s student, Habib Khan was killed after falling through a rooftop skylight at Duncan McArthur Hall. In addition, at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, rookie volleyball player Andrew Bartlett died when he tumbled down a set of stairs in October 2010 after a team initiation party.

So how safest to consume alcohol? Of course, Orientation Week is a huge social gathering time where alcohol has a huge presence. This transition time can trap many first year students (who possibly have never tried alcohol, let alone experienced intoxication) into a corner where their morals and self control are put to the test. This is not to say that you can never indulge in the experience of social drinking, but I am hoping to influence your decisions as to the extent of intoxication that is achieved during this time of the academic year.

Residences are the primary place of alcohol consumption for first year Mounties because of age restrictions. Every residence holds similar rules regarding consumption of this powerful beverage, but here are a few simple tips to follow to ensure the ‘Three Stooges’, Mo, Jack, and Jose are your friends, not foes.

Keep a running tab on how many drinks you’ve consumed in one night and on a weekly level, just to put things in perspective. Remember alcohol is packed with calories too!

Nobody likes to party on an empty stomach so ensure a starchy meal is enjoyed before the festivities begin in order to aid your body in soaking up the alcohol.

Know your body. Sometimes the alcohol takes time to set in so beware when taking shots and you appear ‘to not feel it yet’. It will inevitably ‘hit you’ and this is usually how students pass their limits.

If you can, go dancing, go running, or go skipping (in a safe manner) to keep you distracted from staying idle and drinking due to boredom.

Lastly, at the end of a big night, drink plenty of water, since alcohol will dehydrate you, to avoid the infamous hangover the next day.

Remember Mounties, university is the time for new experiences and to grow as a person. Make sure to look out for each other as we are a tight-knit family and want to share a responsible relationship with the ‘Three Stooges’.

– See more at: http://argosy.ca/article/weekly-wellness-3#sthash.TYBKwG6A.dpuf

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