News Magazine of the UW Department of Communication
By MOLLY WALDRON
Like many college students, Amanda Jax waited in anticipation for her 21st birthday when she could finally enjoy alcohol legally. When the day came, Jax and her friends started their night out with a few beers at one of their apartments.
According to a Minneapolis Star Tribune article, her friends took her to Sidelines Bar and Grill in Mankato, Minn., and bought her another beer, a whiskey shot and a shot of rum. The bartender gave her cherry schnapps drink, and even though Jax was starting to show signs of severe intoxication, one of the men in the group bought her a stoplight, which is a strong drink made with vodka.
Some of Jax's friends remember her having another beer or two and a Long Island iced tea at some time during the night. Jax started passing out at the bar, and her friends laughed it off, commenting on how frequently she got drunk and how much more she'd had to drink in the past before calling it a night.
By 7 a.m. the next day, Amanda Jax was dead. Her friends found her cold and not breathing at the apartment they came back to after celebrating, where they had put Jax to bed in the early hours of the morning while she vomited. The 100-pound young woman registered a blood alcohol level of .46, and she became one of about 1,400 students a year that die after drinking.
College binge drinking and 21 st birthday traditions are rampant on campuses across the nation. The age group most likely to binge drink is 18 to 20 year olds, and 90 percent of alcohol consumed by people under 21 is in the form of binge drinks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I think that binge drinking can sometimes be dangerous,” college senior Andrew Jones said. “But if the people do it without driving and without being in any immediate danger, occasional binge drinking can be fun.”
Binge drinking, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 percent or above. This is usually achieved when men consume five or more drinks or when women consume four or more drinks in the span of about two hours.
Four or five drinks seems like nothing for most of the 80 percent of young adults who celebrate their 21 st birthdays at with alcohol. Jesse Drews met the same fate as Amanda Jax after his friends convinced him to go out and drink after midnight on his birthday.
A New York Times article describes Drews' alleged attempted to drink 21 shots of alcohol, making it to “about 10 or 12,” according a friend. He was found dead at 4 a.m. with a blood alcohol content of .38 in his Wisconsin home.
The attempt to consume 21 drinks on a 21 st birthday is growing increasingly common, according to a study by the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Among students who drank to mark their coming of age, 34 percent of the men and 24 percent of the women reported consuming 21 or more drinks. While individuals' answers may have been exaggerated, the study was one of the largest ever conducted of its kind.
Alicia Miller, a University of Washington senior, is all too familiar with what can happen when a common tradition leaves a victim. After a close friend's 21 run, Miller's friend became unconscious. The event started at the Agua Verde, a Mexican restaurant near campus that serves alcohol; progressed to Earls on the Ave, and came to an end in the bathroom of the College Inn on 41st.
After nearly an hour of vomiting in the restroom of the College Inn, Miller's friend stopped responding to her friends and appeared to pass out. Another member of their group carried her to a car after calling for a sober ride. The group was finally able to lay her on her side in Miller's apartment, and the group argued over whether to seek medical help while their friend spent her birthday in a most unmemorable way.
“I didn't think we were giving her that much alcohol, but looking back you can't assume that everyone's tolerance is the same. We should have made sure she ate something or paced herself a little better earlier in the night. It was scary having an unconscious friend passed out in my apartment all night. We didn't know what to do. We all just hoped for the best that she would wake up and be okay.”
Having witnessed how alcohol can negatively affect an experience that should be all fun, Miller chose not to go on a 21 run when she reached the legal drinking age. Instead, she spent the occasion with some close friends.
“I didn't go to bars, I decided it would be better to just hang out with my friends,” Alicia said. “I thought it would be a better idea than going to a bar to binge drink with people I didn't know.”
Michael Hilburn, a 20-year-old UW junior, knows the expectation for his birthday six months from now and, while he plans to go out and celebrate, he worries about the peer pressure that comes with the tradition.
“I am scared for my 21 run. The goal of those who go with you on a 21 run is clearly to mess you up as much as possible, and that cannot lead to anything good. It is unfortunate that America 's youth partake in such destructive behavior causing poor decisions to be made and health issues that have the potential to have lingering effects.”
Sean La Marr, another UW junior, recently turned 21 after anticipating his birthday celebration for months. The chance to finally enter social realm that was formerly off limits appeals to La Marr and many others who consider it a rite of passage and the beginning of adult drinking with family and friends.
Despite the dangers, the consensus is that 21 runs are here to stay. Some states are attempting to pass legislation hindering 21 st birthday celebrations at bars by making it illegal to drink until 8 a.m. on the day you turn 21. Bars have taken precautions against lawsuits and alcohol poisoning by monitoring 21 st birthday celebrations. Ultimately, the responsibility rests on each individual turning 21 and the friends that seek to make their birthdays an experience.
