Many students first experience alcohol when they begin college. For some it may be their first beer at a party or learning the proper way to take Jell-O shots. Maybe it’s finally being able to go wine tasting with friends or ordering your first drink downtown.
Dr. Dan Berkow, Director of Psychological Counseling Services at California State University, Stanislaus (Stan State), believes the use of alcohol on college campuses can be a responsible and fun experience or it can have negative effects in a student’s life if not made aware of the pit falls leading to abuse.  
Being aware of the dangers of alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse may help shed light on some less than appealing situations.
There were 91 referrals and two arrests related to alcohol use on the Stan State campus in 2014 according to the University Police Department (UPD). Referrals can be anything from minors in possession of alcohol to ambulatory incidents due to binge drinking.
In 2014, it was reported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH), that 59.8% of college students ages 18-22 drank alcohol in the past month and 37.9% had 5 or more drinks on a single occasion.
Also reported by NIH, 1,825 college students ages 18-24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, which includes motor vehicle accidents.
These statistics shouldn’t detour people from the safe and lawful use of alcohol, but they do shine a light on the realities and consequences of poor responsibility among students.
A key factor to responsible consumption of alcohol is “how much, how often, and the time between drinks,” Dr. Berkow said
Recently, there was an open seminar titled “To Get Wasted or Not: Looking into Alcohol and Other Drugs” hosted by Dr. Berkow.
The seminar was mainly focused on student’s interactions with alcohol as well as the recognition and prevention of abuse in many forms.
Although I was the only attendee to the seminar, it did offer a packet of information on how to understand and recognize addiction and substance abuse at its core.
Dr. Berkow spoke about the importance of being a voice that speaks up in tough times to help those who are currently struggling to overcome their abuse, whether that be a temporary abuse or long term battle.
One student I spoke with gave her view from both the positive and negative side of alcohol involvement in her family.
Viviana Calixto (senior, Liberal Studies) shared her uncle’s story of ten plus years of alcohol abuse.
As a child she remembers mostly being sheltered from him along with the other kids due to the unpredictability being drunk has on a person.
 “It was sad to see because he had kids around and we would never be around him so we couldn’t see [him],” Calixto said.
Thankfully for her uncle, he was able to kick the abusive drinking habit.
When asked about her college drinking experience, Calixto said “people take [drinking] too far sometimes, they keep drinking when the know they should probably stop.”
In the past few years at college she explains seeing the abuse of alcohol most attributed to people wanting to impress fellow students which may lead to fights and/or lack of coordination of some stunt.
“I think they just don’t know their limits. They drink to drink and don’t know when to stop,” Calixto said.
Posted on NIH website is information about how to determine “What is a Standard Drink?” and it beneficial for all who participate in alcohol consumption to be aware of how much they consume.
On the lighter side of Calixto’s alcohol involvement would be the positive experiences like wine night with her sister which she sees as “quality bonding time.”
Titiana Stovall (Master’s program) clued me into some perils of alcohol endangering problems.
She spoke about a situation in her freshman year where due in part to excessive alcohol consumption by another young lady (Student A), Student A ended up in the hospital.
Although the two young ladies were complete strangers, Stovall recalls that she recognized the signs that it was time for Student A to go home and simmer down.
“She was playing herself out to be sexual in a flirtatious way, which is almost always a clue you should slow down and think,” Stovall said.
The line between helping a stranger and forcing a stranger to go home before anything can happen leaves most, including Titiana on this occasion, in an awkward position.
“Part of me feels bad that I should’ve taken her to her dorm but I didn’t… but hind sight is 20/20 and I would’ve done things different because nobody deserves that,” Stovall said.
For individuals who use drugs, the harm can happen faster than expected based on information from Drugabuse.com, which states “In high dosages, the risk for more dangerous effects increases, and the potential for heart attack, stroke, respiratory failure and coma increase.”
“The problem with drinking and substance abuse is when harm begins to take place in someone’s life,” Dr. Berkow said.
If you recognize that there is a problem with binge drinking or substance abuse at a party, in your home, or anywhere in between there is help that can be provided.
Not only can you personally be an aide to someone who may need your help, stranger or not, but safety is the main concern and we should do our best to look out for one another.
If you would like to become more informed and help other students, you may think about joining the Warrior Watch program which is designed to inform and give average bystanders the knowledge and power to extend a helping hand to those in need.
If you feel the situation is above your ability to properly handle, help can be sought out. On campus students are privy to a wide range of services offered including free access to Psychological Counseling Services.
Recognizing there is a problem and confronting it is the first and possibly the biggest step towards any resolution.
On campus, UPD reports that of the students who consume alcohol, 91% use a designated driver which is astonishingly great.
Not all encounters with alcohol are negative. The responsible consumption of alcohol can be highlighted in ways such as bonding trip between friends or enjoying a drink to complement something tasty paired with it.
Beneath the alcohol content and beneath the bubbles lies a very complex combination of ideas turned flavors.
These flavors do not just happen, but are regularly designed and engineered.
Dr. Choong-Min Kang, Assistant professor of Microbiology at Stan State, is doing just that.
He, along with a few professors and student assistants are working hard to “develop a novel yeast strain by cell fusion.”
The research has caught the eye of a prominent brewery due to the ideas behind mixing yeast strains. Yeast, which is what gives alcohol its main flavor, is present in wine, beer, champagne and even sake, can be mixed to produce a final product with a novel flavor and higher alcohol content if so desired.
The fusion of the different yeast strains is definitely exciting from a production aspect as you can product a hybrid flavor.
“We have fused sake yeast with wine yeast…creating a fusion yeast that is mostly sake with some wine flavor,” Dr. Kang said.
This project was started in Korea by Dr. Kang and it is currently in its third year of research and development in order to commercialize a product out of school.
The science behind the development of beer is a major concern to breweries because flavors that people love have chemical markers and as a brew master with a PhD in the sciences or engineering, it could be your job to keep the brew molecularly in balance which keeps the customers wanting more.
Whether your experience with alcohol is negative or positive, be aware of the resources available to you on campus.
For more information on Warrior Watch visit csustan.edu/warrior-watch and for information on Psychological Counseling Services please call (209) 667-3381 or stop by their office in Library Room 185.