Put down the booze, Pick up the books, and work for your grades

Kevin Corley
In an earlier post, I mentioned a survey revealing that many students in college spend more time drinking than they do studying. This survey, mentioned here, consisted of 30,000 first year students on 76 campuses and suggested that over half of freshmen that drink spend more time drinking than they do studying. This is a serious issue. If students can spend more time drinking than studying, then are they really getting the best education they can?

Amy Wolaver believes that heavy drinking can negatively affect grades and performance. While this is clearly irrefutable, the issue is much more complex. This drinking problem can be tied in with the grade inflation issue discussed in earlier posts. It is very likely that students drink more than they study not simply because they do not care about school, but because they can do so without facing consequences. Grade inflation means that colleges are giving out A’s and B’s easier and easier. This means that students need to do very little to get good grades and comparatively, nothing, if all they care about is passing. This type of scenario creates a breeding ground for students to partake in excessive drinking habits.

Realistically, many people will only do what they need to get by. Students study as much as they need to and then need something to fill their excess time when they aren’t studying. Drinking is the solution to them. Students need a motivation to work harder. Colleges should increase standards and workloads. Those that continue to drink more than they study clearly do not value their education. However, with an increased workload, many students will work harder and spend less time drinking. Students do not spend more time drinking because they don’t care about school but because they can since schools make it so easy for them. Solve the grade inflation problem, solve the drinking problem.