Get hammered!

By: Lauren Collins

Posted: 11/6/08

Alcohol consumption is often associated with college students and college towns, but not every student drinks alcohol and not everyone wants to drink every night. There should be alternative fun for people who don't feel like drowning their brain with intoxicating liquids.

Drinking is encouraged by daily drink specials, competitive games and the ever-present peer pressure around Greenville, and, judging by the number of people you can see stumbling from bar to bar in the city every night, people are continually being wooed into forgetting their evenings. Although I am legally old enough to drink, I often find myself longing to do something other than go to a bar or house party.

I find it incredibly difficult to believe that I am the only person who feels this way.

I've seen organizations associated with the university that offer sober alternatives, but they require some sort of skill or religious affiliation. Then I stumbled across hammered.org, which is a chapter organization that avoids preaching about drinking woes, but provides fun for students who simply don't feel like drinking.

Universities across the nation participate in hammered.org's programs, but North Carolina doesn't have a single chapter. This type of organization would be awesome for students who want to get to know new people and connect with students who share similar interests. Maybe there are people who can play hours of board games, cards or Wii. Perhaps groups of people want to go see movies, try a new restaurant or start up a game of dodge ball. Because I live off campus, a Hammered chapter would give me the chance to develop social networks with people on campus, without making a new drinking buddy.

The hammered.org concept may sound like a bore to some, but consider the side effects of drinking before slamming the people who may be interested in getting "Hammered."

Don't be mistaken, I am not chastising those who choose to drink, but simply suggesting an alternative to alcohol consumption. At the very least, consider the risks associated with drinking before accepting your next red cup. If there seems to be any interest in starting a Hammered chapter at ECU, it would be an awesome addition to the activities currently offered on campus that I would back 100 percent.

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.