According  to  the  Na/onal  Ins/tute  of  Alcohol  Abuse  and  Alcoholism,  there  are  es/mated  to  be  10.8  million  underage  drinkers  in  the  United  States.  Nearly  60  percent  of  college  drinkers  are  under  21.    

1,825  college  students  between  ages  18  and  24  die  from  alcohol-­‐related  accidents,  including  car  crashes.  

“I  would  hope  that  students  choose  not  to  drink  alcohol  based  on  their  personal  convic/ons,  not  our  policies,”  says  Carl  Johnson,  director  of  Campus  Ac/vi/es  at  the  University  of  Denver.  

The  average  male  freshman  consumes  7.39  drinks  per  week,  while  the  average  female  drinks  3.86.  

Students  that  are  the  most  likely  to  drink  usually  tend  to  be  Caucasian,  male,  

athletes,  members  of  Greek  life,  or  first-­‐year  

students.  

More  teens  are  killed  by  alcohol  than  by  all  other  

illegal  drugs  combined.  

In  the  U.S.  alone,  about  5,000  people  under  age  21  die  each  year  from  injuries  caused  by  underage  drinking.    

“I  feel  like  the  [alcohol]  policy  is  enforced,”  says  Kevin  Collins*,  a  freshman.  “Since  I  got  in  trouble  here,  I  drink  a  lot  less  than  I  did  before.”  (*name  changed  for  privacy  purposes)  

It  is  es/mated  that  two-­‐thirds  of  alcohol  vendors  don’t  ask  for  iden/fica/on,  making  it  easier  for  underage  students  to  gain  access  to  it.  

According  to  Core  Ins/tute  

Sta/s/cs,    31  percent  of  

college  students  missed  a  class  

due  to  substance  abuse.  One-­‐third  

of  freshmen  don’t  make  it  back  for  their  

sophomore  year  due  to  their  

drinking  habits.  

“I  drank  so  much  stuff  in  high  school,  I  try  to  stay  away  from  liquor  because  it  gives  you  a  hangover  that’s  infinitely  worse,”  says  Alex  Peterson*,  a  freshman  at  DU.  (*name  changed  for  privacy  purposes)  

“I  think  that  our  students  understand  that  underage  drinking  is  against  the  law,  and  our  policies  so  in  that  case  are  very  effec/ve,”  says  Johnson.