Myth or Fact: 

What is the truth about alcohol?

#1  Myth or fact:  “All college students drink, and when they do they usually get wasted.”

MYTH:  The fact is, most students at USM, as well as college students around the country, make relatively healthy choices about alcohol.  20% of college students don’t touch a drop of alcohol for a variety of reasons:  they don’t like the way it makes them feel; they don’t want it to interfere with academic or athletic performance; they have had issues in the past with alcohol and do not want to experience any additional negative life consequences; they come from an alcoholic family and know they are at least ten times more likely to develop a problem with alcohol than peers who do not come from an alcoholic family; it’s against their belief system.  Another 50% of college students consume alcohol, but in a lower risk, lower amount, lower frequency manner.  That means that they don’t drink that often, and when they do they typically do not drink to get drunk or experience negative life consequences.  This means that the remaining 30% of college students (less than a third) drink to get drunk, meaning that if you drink to get drunk, you’re in the minority, not the majority.

#2  Myth or fact:  “It’s a good sign to be throwing up at the end of the night, ‘cause it gets out the alcohol.”

MYTH:  The fact is, throwing up is a sign that the body is getting toxic.  It’s your body’s way of saying, “Whoa, we need to put on the brakes on!”  Vomiting after drinking is a bad sign, not a good one.  Here’s why:

• Unless you take a drink and then immediately vomit it right back up, what you are puking at the end of the night is primarily NOT the alcohol in your system; it’s everything else that was in the glass or in your stomach.
• Much of what is in the glass or bottle is not alcohol.  For example, the typical beer is 5% alcohol, so 95% of what you are drinking includes water, coloring, and flavoring.  A hard alcohol of 80 proof is 40% pure alcohol, with the rest being congeners from fermentation and other additives.
• Alcohol does not need to be digested like other foods.  Once it hits our stomach, 70% of alcohol gets dumped into our small intestine and then absorbed directly into the blood stream.
• Although you will have your stomach “pumped” with charcoal fed through a tube if transported to the emergency room for possible alcohol poisoning, this is to have you vomit in a more predictable manner and make sure there is no more alcohol being dumped into your small intestine as medical professionals begin to treat you.  It does nothing to remove the alcohol that is already in your bloodstream.

#3  Myth or fact:  “It’s normal to pass out from drinking.”

MYTH:  The fact is, most people don’t pass out from drinking.  Passing out is a VERY bad sign, and actually is an indication that it’s a medical emergency.  Thinking about staying up with your roommate all night because you think you know what to look for?  Consider this:

• There is a big difference between “passing out” and “crashing for the night”.  If you crashed and are just asleep, someone can come into the room, and if they try to wake you they can do so, although you may be a little peeved about it.  If you are “passed out”, it means that you’ve had enough alcohol to put to sleep the part of your brain that allows you to be awake and interact with your environment.
• The very next part of the brain to be impacted by alcohol after a person “passes out” is the brain stem.  This is the most protected part of your brain where your vital signs are, from the word “vita” meaning “life”.  Once alcohol hits this part of the brain, a person is in serious trouble.

#4  Myth or fact:  “Someone has alcohol poisoning if they are throwing up blood and twitching on the floor with their eyes rolling back into their head.”

MYTH:  The fact is, while none of those things are good signs, it is NOT the typical picture of alcohol  poisoning.  Remember:  alcohol is a depressant, which slows down the body functions as it soaks into the various regions of the brain.  Typically, a person who has alcohol poisoning looks like the following, and requires immediate medical attention:

• Slow heart rate
• Cold, clammy skin
• Unresponsive to people’s attempts to wake them up
• Vomiting while unconscious

Some students figure that, if they turn the person onto their side to prevent them from “puking and choking in their sleep”, the person will be fine.  However, how many of us actually wake up in the same position from when we went to sleep?  Leaving a person unattended when they are in this condition is extremely dangerous.

#5  Myth or fact:  “If I get help for another student, one or both of us will get kicked out of school.”

MYTH:  The fact is, the primary concern of USM is to make sure everyone is going to be safe.  USM has a “Good Samaritan Policy”, which in a nutshell says that, if you take the initiative to get help for someone who is under the influence of alcohol, it will be taken into consideration when determining if any sanctions are to occur.  Does this guarantee amnesty?  No.  However, try to understand the system USM has established to address alcohol-related violations of the Student Conduct Code:

• Some universities send students immediately to court for any alcohol violation.  USM recognizes that this is an important learning opportunity, while at the same time expects students to adhere to Maine state law.
• For a first offense, a student typically meets with a staff member to discuss the incident, and is asked to complete an online educational course called AlcoholEdu.  This course allows students to examine their choices around alcohol, and to have access to the most up-to-date research on alcohol.
• USM has a “three-strike” system, meaning that a typical student would have to accumulate three alcohol offenses within a calendar year to lose their housing contract.  HOWEVER, each case is treated on an individual basis.  A student can, in fact, lose their housing contract or be suspended from the institution in response to only one alcohol violation if it is particularly heinous, such as if there is a sexual assault involved.

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