Alcohol consumption is a real problem on most college campuses. Most of us know that alcohol can be dangerous, even deadly. Parents and college administrators need to get serious about stopping underage drinking and serving alcohol to minors.

With daily news reports about real and alleged sexual assaults, rapes, and hook ups on campus, we all need to be alert to underage alcohol consumption.

Not only can alcohol be dangerous, research shows that it is a known precursor to first time sexual experiences, hook ups, and to criminal sexual conduct.

Research, recently published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, reveals that many adults and students do not consider themselves to be binge drinkers.

“While they do know when they are wasted, the reality is that four consecutive drinks per sitting for a woman and five for a man constitutes binge drinking.

And that means society is more tolerant of binge drinking than we think.”

College students, who want to fit in, say that they deliberately get drunk so that they CAN hook up at parties.

In other words, if they were sober, they might not hook up?

Add to this, the lack of accountability and/or law enforcement on campus regarding alcohol consumption and things can quickly escalate.

Bowls full of condoms, birth control, “safe sex,” and so-called consent rules such as “Yes Means Yes” will never fix this problem!

Over the Holidays, be alert to alcohol consumption in yourself and your children. When the kids come home, watch for signs of alcohol withdrawal. Listen to your student if he/she says that they do not want to go back to school. They may be begging to avoid the risky lifestyle.

Not only do laws need to be followed, but abstaining from alcohol prevents situations that can lead to hook ups, rape, or accusations of criminal sexual conduct.

Better to be sober, than sorry.