5 sources

Baer, John S. "Student Factors: Understanding Individual Variation in College Drinking." Collegedrinkingprevention.gov. 23 Sept. 2005. Web. 5 May 2012. <www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/supportingresearch/journal/baer.aipx>.

Dowdall, George W. College Drinking: Reframing a Social Problem. Westport, CT: Greenwood Group, 2009. Print.

Jayson, Sharon. "College Drinking Is Liberating, and a Good Excuse." Usatoday.com. Gannett Co. Inc., 22 Aug. 2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2011/08/College-drinking-is-liberating-and-a-good-excuse/50080738/1>.

Johnston, LD. "Statistical Snapshot of College Drinking." Nih.gov. National Institute of Health, 2008. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/AboutNIAAA/NIAAASponsoredPrograms/StatisticalSnapshotCollegeDrinking.htm>.

Weitzman, ER. "Social Developmental Overview of Heavy Episodic or Binge Drinking Among U.S. College Students." Hsph.harvard.edu. Harvard School of Public Health, 2004. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/Documents/socdevel-article/>. 

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

-does alcohol play a major role in the life of college students?  Does it form behaviors?

-does underage drinking among college students change they outcome of student life?

-Why is college drinking so popular, frequent, and tolerated?

-How is academic and social life altered by alcohol among college students?  

_Is alcohol and excuse or is it a cause of problems among college students?

RIOT Review

While "helping" the students in the Rutgers RIOT,  I felt a little more comfortable in my own research process.  Reviewing how to narrow down a research topic definitely helped me to better form my own thesis and limit a broad topic down  to a specific field of study.  Also "teaching" the students how to limit their keywords refreshed my mind on how to properly use databases.  Without using Rutgers RIOT I would have still felt confident in my own research but it was good to refresh my memory.  I will definitely benefit from using these library resources

Privatization and College Drinking

While writing a paper on privatization in higher education I noticed there is clearly a relationship between privatization and drinking underage.  While it might not be apparent, there definitely is some connection between the two.  As I was learning about privatization, I noticed how schools are focusing more on the business aspects of college rather than the educational ones. That being said, schools are paying more attention to their profits and economic status instead of ensuring a high graduating rate and being able to provide a solid curriculum for the students.  If more and more schools are focusing on monetary value then they care more about money than they do the individual. 

It is said those who choose to drink underage during college have a higher drop out rate, are more prone to failing classes,  turn in assignments late, and generally do poorly in school.  But if the schools themselves care mostly about money, then when these students fail the schools don't really do much to help.  They get paid regardless of a student's success.  An A or an F still costs the same, and even when students fail, they generally have to retake the course or add another year onto their college career.  So in turn the university is making money and turns the other shoulder at underage drinking.  Yes, schools do have programs that try to teach awareness and prevention but in the long run, they don't really care what students choose to do.  If you are paying for school, you can do whatever you want.  They are not responsible for your actions. 

Im not saying privatization causes student drinking because privatization is very recent.  Underage drinking has been around much longer.  However, I believe privatization does nothing to help this crisis.  In my mind, it makes schools less interested in an individual's problems and causes them to focus more on income for the institution

Sources

While brushing the surface of this topic,  I came across several interesting sources of material online.  Some were government websites while others were medical journals,  psychology reports,  clinical studies, and testimonies from experienced authors familiar in the subject.    Some information that I found caught my attention and made me realize more about my topic.  There is this sort of "paradox" that exists within college drinking.   While many sources claim that underage drinking at college is harmful in many ways, it is clearly socially accepted and it relieves many social anxieties.  So on one hand, alcohol is said to cause stress and depression, but on the other, it relieves it.  I looked at this in a new light.  If alcohol is "responsible" for many problems in college life,  how can it also be an escape?  It seems redundant.  The cure is also the cause.  So thinking this way, I said to myself,  maybe alcohol is merely an amplifier for underlying issues within the individual.  Maybe college life would be the same with or without drinking.  According to collegedrinkingprevention.gov ,  the individual is highly accountable for his or her actions based on personality.  Alcohol, like I hypothesized,  is just something that extremely exaggerates qualities that already exist in the individual

Personality

"Studies of student personality are among the most common with respect to alcohol use. Personality typically refers to characteristic ways of thinking, feeling and acting that show some consistency when measured across situations and over time. Research on personality and alcohol use and misuse here is organized based on three, broadbased personality constructs: impulsivity/disinhibition, extraversion/ sociability and neuroticism/emotionality"

  (http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/supportingresearch/journal/baer.aspx)

here you can see a basic break down of how alcohol is measured within one's personality.  this website is also the most linked on Google when searching "college drinking" or "underage drinking at college"

It seems important to me to follow this research because there is a good deal of information that already exists on the internet as well as in many scholarly articles and books.  Because such information already is out there, it will give me a good foundation to start from. 

Stance on topic

Recently I have decided to stick with my initial subject.  I want to take the controversy of college drinking and expose the psychological consequences of it.  How does student social behavior, academic integrity, moral outlook, and personality become affected by alcohol?  So many students in colleges and universities drink, some more than others, but it is generally socially accepted and not many pay much attention to it.  I want to see how this impacts students currently enrolled as undergraduates as well as the graduate population.  I want to see how the future can become affected as well as the present by researching a variety of sources such as teachers, students, parents, and faculty.  I want to know whether or not alcohol is the true cause of the problems students face at school or whether it is merely a catalyst to a preexisting issue.  Maybe students are naturally destined to turn out a certain way, perhaps underage drinking is only a mask which they unconsciously hide behind.  If my study goes correctly, I hope to uncover the true reasons behind the anxieties faced at college and whether or not alcohol can be held responsible for them.