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Wednesday, January 19, 2000
10A
Celebration overkill
Dangerous birthday tradition mirrors binge drinking trends
By Erin McHugh
Special to the Kansan
Kim Mathews prepared for her 21st birthday armed with her friends, a camera and a bottle of water, to keep her hydrated. Mathews, Overland Park junior, started drinking at a bar at 8:30 p.m. and completed her 21-shot goal by last call at 1:45 a.m. Her roommates carried Mathews home and let her sleep in one of their beds until 4 p.m. the next afternoon.
"It's just something that I've always wanted to do," Mathews said. "A lot of my friends had completed the 21-shot challenge and won. I was determined to do it."
But that challenge can turn deadly. Bradley McCue, a Michigan State University junior died of alcohol poisoning last year after he consumed 24 shots on his 21st birthday. His blood alcohol level was .44 percent, more than four times the legal limit for driving. (In Michigan, the legal limit is .10 limit. In Kansas, the legal limit is .08)
Luke Atkinson, Leawood sophomore,
wanted to take 21 shots on his 21st birthday.
After going out to dinner with his parents, he went to the bars, where he consumed 50 shots.
"I knew I was going to do over 21 shots, but I had no idea how many," Atkinson said.
Atkinson took 34 mixed shots and 16
pure liquor shots. He said he remembered most of the night, woke up the next day at 5 p.m. and started studying for a test he had the next day.
"When you drink more than one drink an hour, you are overriding the body's defense mechanism, which leads to a high blood-alcohol concentration," Francis said. "The buildup of alcohol in the system has serious consequences."
Julie Francis, Watkins Memorial Health Center health educator, said students frequently underestimated the dangerous consequences of quickly drinking large amounts of alcohol quickly.
The brain acts like a sponge, and as alcohol is consumed, it soaks into and affects five different sections of the brain. After each drink, a different area is affected.
Mathews has a sheet of paper listing all of the shots she consumed on her birthday, who bought them for her and her signature after taking each shot. After about eight shots, the signature no longer looked like her own.
Several other factors also contribute to the effects of alcohol: weight, tolerance, the strength of the drink and the amount of water and food consumed during the day.
"After the last shot, I can't recognize one single letter in my name," Mathews said. "It just looks like I made a line and threw the pen out of my hand."
The 21-shot tradition fits into a larger pattern of college drinking. A 1998 Harvard University study found that 42.7 percent of students had been binge drinking in the two weeks before they were surveyed, down only slightly from 44.1 percent in a 1993 Harvard study.
With the dangerous repercussions associated with drinking 21 shots, why do students continue the practice? In the United States, associating the age of 21 with reaching adulthood may contribute.
The new findings are based on the responses of 14,521 students at 116 colleges who were surveyed in the spring of 1997.
Grobe, who has done research on addictive behavior, said there were several different points in American culture that signified reaching adulthood: receiving a driver's license at age 16, voting at age 18, drinking alcohol at age 21 and lower insurance rates at age 25.
James Grobe, associate professor of psychology, said several other cultures had a set ceremony to mark the beginning of adulthood.
"It's common to have some sort of rite of passage," Grobe said. "We don't have a formal rite of passage in our society."
"It is easy to see people create a common base, such as 21 shots on a 21st birthday, to mark a period." Grobe said.
The reality is that American society does not recognize a specific birthday as the age when an adolescent becomes and adult.
Alison Spurgeon, Colorado Springs, Colo., senior, said she noticed a cultural difference in drinking attitudes while studying abroad last summer.
"When I studied in Italy, I noticed the difference between American drinking and European drinking," Spurgeon said. "Since many European countries don't have drinking ages, being 21 isn't seen as being such a big deal."
Employees at the Wagon Wheel Cafe, 507 W. 14th St., a popular birthday celebration spot, keep a close eye on the amount of alcohol students consume. Dave Tacha, Lawrence senior and bartender at The Wheel, said bartenders
Doing the math: how the shots add up
One or two drinks: The judgment center of the brain is affected.
Three or four drinks: The motor section of the brain is affected.
Six or 10 drinks: The body attempts to protect itself by either vomiting or passing out. Blackouts also occur at this level, creating alcohol-related amnesia.
Five or six drinks: Emotions are affected. Whatever emotion felt before drinking now will be enhanced. A person may go from happy to hyper or from sad to depressed.
More than 10 drinks:
Involuntary muscles are affected. Because alcohol is a depressant, the lungs and heart may shut down and lead to coma or death.
source: BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network
reserved the right to stop serving if they thought that customers were putting themselves in danger.
"We cut people off just to make sure they are safe," Tacha said. "We try to keep people in control as far as alcohol consumption."
Tracy Wetschensky, Kansas City, Kan. junior, said she still plans to complete her goal of drinking 21 shots despite the danger associated with it.
"I just want to say I've taken 21 shots to prove that I can do it," Wetschensky said. "Turning 21 is a big deal, and I want to celebrate the right way."
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