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The Big Q

The Pre-game

Monday, Oct. 1, 2012

The best college student comment on "The Pre-game" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. The video should allow you to choose whose story you will follow. If you have trouble with this feature, you can view the video on YouTube.

Entries must be received by midnight, Oct. 14. Finalists are selected by likes, so get your friends to like your comment. Subscribe to the blog (by RSS or by email in the right hand column) for updates.

For this contest, watch this interactive video which allows you to choose what two college students, Ari and Daniel, will do on a night out. Click on the prompts to make your selection. At the end, comment here and tell us about a time you faced a decision like Ari's and Daniel's.

Posted by Miriam Schulman

Comments

Grahm Uate said on Oct 3, 2012: Definitely fun to go through--and interesting to see where their possible nights end up. Back when I was a freshman, and even up to when I was a senior, I was presented with similar situations. Unfortunately, I didn't have the ease to click a different text bubble and remain more sober. Pregaming often happens with a group of people, and it's difficult to voice your resistance when everyone else is doing it. Because of that, there were a number of nights where I, like Daniel or Ari, either "gave tribute to the porcelain gods" or made a fool of myself. Usually they happened in tandem. However, pregaming can be much more serious than just a night of nausea and embarrassment. As we have seen across the country, rapid consumption of alcohol can lead to death. Unfortunately, no one ever believes it will happen to them. Truth is, though, it can. Life is full of cost/benefit analysis. And I can tell you personally, the benefit of an extra "buzz" from pounding shots, is no way near the cost of displeasure later in the night. Besides, what's there to gain from being the drunkest one at a party? - Like - 1 person likes this.
Cassandra Cupka said on Oct 13, 2012: In high school, I was never pressured to drink, I never even knew the people who could get me alcohol. College was an entirely new setting; the peer pressure to drink was an eye-opener. I always thought that saying ?no? to drinking was simple, but in reality the social forces influencing a person to drink can be a heavy burden. My friends never even had to directly pressure me to drink. They never told me I was being a 'pussy' or that I was not going to have fun if I didn't. I felt the pressure from having literally EVERYONE ELSE but myself drinking. I would feel like I was missing out on something during the drinking process, when they had to go through buying the alcohol, when they got to mix and make fun cocktails, when they would talk about drinking stories with other friends. Sometimes the pressure to drink is so indirect you may not realize it unless you are looking for it. I, however, saw this pressure and labeled it as this giant rite of passage that I was missing out on. Not to mention, when you say that you do not drink you are immediately labeled as either a prude or at minimum less fun than other people that DO drink. I felt like I was missing out on making friends and maybe even finding a boyfriend. But once I did drink, I hated it, or was bored with it. All this social pressure and I finally caved for THIS? I continued to drink simply to fit in, but now I deem it as not even worth my time and especially not my money. I'm lucky; I just have something in me that is not compelled to drink and definitely not to get drunk. But I understand how others feel the pressure and get completely swept up in this culture of the ?pregame?. It something that others might find irresistible, but the key is asking yourself a) is this something that I really want to do, and if it is b) will this want go against my ultimate happiness. Like the characters in the video, drinking can lead to temporary happiness, but may impede your overall happiness. - Like - 10 people like this.
Hadi said on Oct 14, 2012: I've never faced any of these decisions unfortunately, and I really hope that doesn't disqualify me from the contest! But, I have never gotten into drinking because 1. for religious purposes 2. a lot of my friends have abusive fathers who did very bad things due to alcoholism 3. two classmates in high school died due to drinking and driving, and 4. I think being in a constant state of control over your mind is a virtue that I abide by. I have attended parties here in college but I always drink soda as a way of visually fitting in. However, I have stopped going to these parties for most of my senior year because while at these parties I realized there was no one I could talk to. I didnt want to engage in conversation with people because they didn't know what they were talking about due to their drunkenness. It was not enjoyable nor did it fit into my conception of "fun" or good. I have always opted to maximize the good by coming up with alternative activities to do with my friends on Fridays and Saturday nights that are immensely fun and don't involve drinking. This way I am able to turn a problem (i.e., not wanting to drink and party with my friends) into a solution (by offering alternatives that are more appealing). I tend to abstain from peer pressure and when I detect peer pressure I naturally become disengaged because if something requires that much pressuring to do under the guise of "fun" it becomes suspicious. Fun things are usually self evident and don't require too much convincing. Glad to see the ethics center collaborating with others to make these questions fun. - Like - 5 people like this.
J said on Oct 14, 2012: One of the most painful experiences of my life was shared with my junior year health class. All year, the teacher of the class prepared herself mentally to speak with us on the loss of her son. He was the kind of bright and lively man who was adored by all who met him. He wasn?t your typical party animal, or even much of a partier at all. He wasn?t an underage pregamer who exceeded his limits. In fact, it was just one night, where a headache after a few glasses of wine convinced him to take some acetaminophen. That?s all it took for a bright futured political science major in his senior year at a private university to stop breathing a few hours later. As college students, we don?t always see risks and rewards properly. But we need to realize the same alcohol Safeway has so much of in colorfully advertised packages is also one of the most powerful drugs we?ll come into contact with during our college careers. Drinking is a privilege meant to be enjoyed responsibly at the appropriate age, whether or not the reasoning behind our laws (which have reduced DUI fatalities) resonates with us personally. This video started out the wrong way: students should spend more time with the ?reasons to get off of your couch this week? from the paper or with one of the dozens upon dozens of clubs that our university offers. You only get a few years at California?s oldest institute of higher education, and I dare say you should make it count. - Like - 1 person likes this.
Big Q said on Oct 31, 2012: Congratulations to Cassandra, our winner of "The Pre-Game!" Thanks to all our commenters for their thoughtful responses, and please continue to post in our bi-weekly contests for another chance to win! - Like

Tags: alcohol, party, pregame

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The Pre-game

Monday, Oct. 1, 2012

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