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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024
VOLUME 119 - ISSUE 3 Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Normalizing danger: UF students, health workers on college alcohol misuse MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS, ALCOHOL POISONING AND SEXUAL ASSAULT AMONG RISKS
By Zoey Thomas Alligator Staff Writer
Grabbing a handle of Tito’s vodka, one-third full, and chugging it straight at The Range bar. That’s the last thing Bennett remembers before waking up in the hospital with a wristband reading “rescue peanut.” The UF student, whose last name is omitted due to regulations from his Alcoholics Anonymous chapter, had just started his second semester of college. He spent much of the first getting “way too messed up” on alcohol and marijuana, skipping class and getting into fights. After a friend picked Bennett up from the hospital, he used their phone to call his dad. “He was like, ‘OK, you’re done,’” Bennett said. “And that was the point where there was nothing left.” Bennett’s father picked him up the next day to take him to a Connecticut treatment center. Almost 70% of UF students reported drinking in the last three months in a health survey conducted in 2022, the latest data available. That’s about 6% higher than the nationwide reference group. Although it’s normalized as part of the college experience, drinking also comes with mental and physical risks. Bennett, now a 20-year-old UF industrial systems sophomore, said his own substance misuse began in high school when he smoked marijuana daily. After he added alcohol in college, his parents grew concerned. But he was too “deep in the barrels” to see himself as an addict. “In my head, throwing up and having to go to the hospital and making my parents pay, that’s OK,” Bennett said. “Watching my mom
look at me when I literally can’t move, can’t walk, because I’m just throwing up.” Today, Bennett has been sober for about a year and a half and helps direct communications for his AA chapter. He still sometimes visits bars with friends. “I think what I was really afraid of, going into rehab, was that I would change as a person,” he said. “I thought I was going to turn into a rock. But at the end of the day, I’m still me. I have different priorities now, but I’m still a funny kid, I’m still outgoing.” Mental and physical risks
Emily Westerholm, a Gainesville Community Counseling mental health clinician, specializes in substance misuse disorders. Binge drinking is normalized among college students, even though their age makes them more susceptible to harmful effects, she said. For a typical adult, binge drinking means consuming five or more drinks for males or four for females in two hours, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Young adults can get overwhelmed with academic and social stress, Westerholm said. Many don’t know alcohol can worsen anxiety and depression. “If you find yourself creating these new patterns where you’re only using depressants, and you don’t really know what you’re doing because you haven’t had that exposure before, it’s really overwhelming for your body,” she said. “Physically, psychologically.” Even casual alcohol users can be affected. Mina Edwards, a 21-yearold UF sociology senior, drank about once every two weeks from age 18 to 20. Edwards became sober for health reasons about eight months ago and “just feels better” since giving it up,
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT
Story finish with comma, pg# Men'sdescription Golf
Senior focuses on mental state. Read more on pg. 12.
SEE ALCOHOLISM, PAGE 3
Ryan Friedenberg // Alligator Staff
Actors being interviewed at the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre on Aug. 28, 2024. Read more in The Avenue on pg. 8.
UF SG started a Gender and Sexuality Protection agency. What’s next?
While some students praise its creation, others question its true intentions By Avery Parker Alligator Staff Writer
UF Student Government’s new Gender and Sexuality Protection agency announced its foundational goal of making “our campus a more inclusive environment for all of our students” in its first Instagram post July 31. The Gender and Sexuality Protection agency, or GASP, describes its goal as protecting and advancing
Curriculum review
UF examined for antisemitism, pg. 3
The Avenue: Food hall
Restaurants open location near campus, pg. 8
equality for all genders and sexualities on campus. The self-proclaimed DEI agency is funded through the Student Senate. Meanwhile, some students have met the agency’s creation with skepticism. GASP agency head Riley Towbin, a 20-year-old UF history and women’s studies junior and member of the LGBTQ+ community, said it serves to help students feel safe and welcome on campus. “I just want to make sure that
everyone knows that no matter how they look and no matter how they present themselves,” Towbin said. “They have a space for themselves in the queer community, even in spaces that aren’t necessarily considered queer.” While Towbin acknowledged that other SG organizations dedicated to providing inclusion and education, such as the Pride Student Union, do exist, she wants the
SEE GASP, PAGE 4
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