DRUNKITY DRUNK DRUNK:
Did you know that April is Alcohol Awareness Month? For those of you who aren’t already super duper aware of alcohol, as twitter suggests you are, the news is super duper aware of alcohol for you today.
ALL THE DRINKING LADIES: You may recall a study released a week or so ago which revealed that better educated women are nearly twice as likely to drink daily; perhaps ’cause we’re depressed about all that money we spent on college now that we’re unemployed anyhow. JK! Here’s why: Expert #1 says “better educated women may drink more because they have kids later in life and have more active social lives. They also hold down jobs in a workplace dominated by men, where drinking is more accepted.” OR, says Expert #2, “Women who hold a degree and a high-level job may handle workplace stress by using alcohol to numb themselves.” Expert #3? “Women who’ve gone through college may tend to drink more because they bear the brunt of caring for kids and households while holding down jobs.” What do you think?
DRUNK FRIENDS: Are your friends drunk? Then you probably are also drunk:
Using the Framingham Heart Study, which tracked more than 12,000 people for 30 years, researchers found that the influence of close friends and those in your extended social circle can have just as much effect on how much you drink as genetics and family history.
A person whose friend drinks heavily is 50 percent more likely to drink heavily himself. In fact, just having a friend of a friend who abuses alcohol makes you 36 percent more likely to do the same. The researchers hope this information will aid in the development of more efficient alcohol-treatment programs.
And, to think, all this research came from before the age of Facebook. Now cyber-acquaintances you have never even meet in real life can tempt you to drink by posting status updates and photos from their sloppy Friday night.
We’d like to take that a step further and suggest that friends can tempt you to drink by announcing on Facebook that they are having a drink right that minute — we can’t wait for the new studies that come out proving that the internet makes people drink more than they used to, ’cause they ain’t alone anymore.
And if you don’t drink, do you find the alcoholic internet kind of annoying sometimes?
DRUNK HOST: If I had Ryan Seacrest’s job, I would probably have to get really drunk every night too. But Seacrest is so squeaky-clean, there’s no possible way he’s pulling a Hey Paula OR IS HE? Is Ryan Seacrest getting drunk on American Idol?
DRUNK COLLEGE STUDENTS: Well at the University of Wisconsin at Stout, the kids are totally drinking too much and so the chancellor is cracking the fuck down:
The university would increase the number of classes held on Fridays in order to discourage Thursday drinking; empower the dean of students to deal more harshly with underage drinking (and its abettors) as well as other alcohol-related offenses; and step up its efforts with local law enforcement to crack down on off-campus house parties, which he considers havens for underage students looking for access to booze.
And the kids are, as you may expect, unimpressed and taking it to facebook.
DRUNK LADIES IN THE UK: Like in the UK, women are being celebrated for “saving pubs.” A study of 2,000 women showed that a THIRD went to a pub at least once a fortnight, usually down the local boozer rather than an upmarket high street chain. And it revealed that even more women would go to pubs if they served better quality food, had entertainment and less televised sport.” (@the sun)
DRUNK PRE-TEENS: A new study in the UK suggests that binge drinking as a teenager increases the risk of breast cancer. Apparently, in “some parts of the country,” 11-15 year old girls are consuming an up to a bottle and a half of wine per week. (@the telegraph uk)
Whether or not you plan to consume copious amounts of alcohol, you should come celebrate with people that usually do at the Go Magazine Nightlife Awards party in New York City on Tuesday, April 20th, with DJ Michelle Rodriguez.
NOT DRUNK, BUT GAY: Jennifer Storm, a former self-proclaimed BLOC (big lesbian on campus), returned to Penn State to talk about her book “Leave the Light On: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-Discovery,” which is about recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. (@collegian)
JUST DRUNK: Meanwhile, this happened: Laura Hall, 20, has been barred from drinking at every pub, club and hotel in England and Wales. She is also prohibited from purchasing alcohol at shops, supermarkets and off-licenses, under the terms of a drinking banning order, police said. (@telegraph uk)
JUST STUPID: Hey stoner – don’t light your alcohol-filled bong: In New Mexico, a man set his mobile home on fire after lighting a bong he’d cleaned out with alcohol. (@nbc)
FOUR SQUARE:
Twanna “Funky Brown Chick” Hines loves FourSquare so much that CNN followed her to a coffee shop just to talk about it! FourSquare honestly petrifies the hell out of me, as I actually stopped reporting my whereabouts on Twitter about a year ago because it freaked me out! But Autostraddle COO Brooke loves it, that’s how we all know she went to The Abbey six times in one week last month. (@cnn)
ANTI-GAY DAY:
Exodus International has kindly set aside an entire day to educate people about the ‘truth’ that they are douchebags:
“Thousands of Christian students are participating in the sixth annual Day of Truth Thursday, a student-led initiative that seeks to encourage peer-level conversations about relationships and biblical sexuality.”
This is of course in response to Friday’s Gay Day of Silence. Thousands of public schools will allow students to sponsor an anti-bullying “Day of Silence” to raise awareness abotu anti-gay bullying. It’s sponsored by GLSEN. Family organizations say it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars. Silence is expensive you guys.
NYC LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER: Police are investigating after a burned rainbow flag was discovered Wednesday morning outside the NYC LGBT Center. The flag was hanging off a poster display case in front of the building. Employees at the center say they have received threatening phone calls and letters in the past but nothing like this has happened before. (@gaycenter)
BE QUEER, BUY QUEER:
Hey, college queers! Have you submitted to OUTmedia and Campus Pride’s Be Queer, Buy Queer project yet? The 4/15 deadline is fast approaching! If you need a little inspiration, check out this video on what BQBQ is all about, and then get going!
EDIT: The deadline has been extended! Send in your videos through 4/26! Voting will be 4/27-4/29.
