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Senior Allison Beck and her friends have an unwritten rule: You can't refuse a drink on your 21st birthday, even if it means attempting to have 21 shots in a few hours.
"You just power through it," she said. "You just gotta do it."
Beck is one of many students who have attempted to take 21 shots or drinks on their 21st birthdays, a ritual that has sparked health and safety concerns.
A new study from researchers at the University of Missouri, thought to be the largest insight into the ritual, reports young adults aren't just drinking to celebrate, but they're drinking to extremes.
"We knew there were students who probably attempted 21 on 21, but we were really shocked by the numbers who really do," said Kenneth Sher, professor of psychological sciences at University of Missouri and the study's lead author.
Alcohol impairs judgement
Out of 2,518 students studied, about 34 percent of the men and 24 percent of the women reported consuming 21 drinks or more, Sher said. Drinks include shots, mixed drinks and beer.
"It doesn't surprise me," Beck said. "Drinks are drinks. Everyone has their good nights and their bad nights. I mean, people can do it and survive."
The students reported their weight, gender, and number of drinks consumed in a time period. While the data may not be completely accurate, researchers estimate half the men and more than one-third of the women who drank on their birthdays experienced blood alcohol levels of 0.26 or higher.
At that level a person is severely impaired and at risk for choking on vomit or suffering serious injury, Sher said.
"We're not unique," he said. "Our students here don't do anything different than some similar universities with a big student community and a prominent Greek system."
In 1996, sophomore Jonathan Woodroof died in his sleep after doing the ritual on his birthday.
"It can happen to the brightest and healthiest kid," said Peter Hulme, his stepfather.
Woodroof drank with friends and later returned home to sleep. He showed no signs of sickness so friends assumed he was fine, Hulme said.
"I always told him if anything ever happened to make himself sick," he said. "Just because you're sleeping or look fine doesn't mean you are. It's all still in your body."
Woodroof, 6 feet tall and about 180 pounds, knew his limit but made a bad call, Hulme said.
"It's not just about you," he said. "It's a tragedy for everyone you leave behind. Lives get ruined - think about that."
Social atmosphere adds pressure to drink
Beck attempted the 21-drink ritual. Her friends made a "shot book" that has a drink description and a picture of her drinking it, she said.
"(Drinking) is so built up in America, and there's so much hype," she said. "It's just about having a 21st birthday story."
Beck drank about 17 shots in four hours, but the last two were absinthe and counted as doubles, she said.
"I absolutely should have stopped drinking earlier," she said. "But you're in an altered state of mind and just don't make that judgment then."
Although senior Tim Schweigerdt didn't purposely try to accomplish the ritual, a piece of paper taped to his refrigerator is a reminder of his 22 drinks within two hours.
"My friends kept buying me drinks, and it just kinda started taking off," he said. "Once it did, I just kept going."
Schweigerdt didn't think about the health risks and dangers at the time, but looking back, it probably wasn't a good thing to do, he said.
"It's your first experience at a bar, and most people just get carried away," he said.
The social atmosphere sets a norm for everyone else, said psychology professor Linda Kline.
"Peer pressure is just that," she said. "It is pressure from friends to follow the norms, to do what everyone is 'supposed to do.'"
Web sites are flooded with videos of people chugging alcohol, which normalizes the behavior, Kline said.
"People are exposed to ideas that are physically distant," she said. "It says that it's not dangerous and impacts other peoples' evaluations."
Senior Jake Lyon disagrees and said people will get drunk whether it's online or not.
"Once you turn 21 people go crazy," he said. "It's just all part of the experience to drink until you can't remember."
The social element adds to the number of drinks consumed, said Lyon, who just turned 21. He had about 15 drinks in three hours, but if his friends weren't buying he would not have had as many.
"Heavy drinking is common in any college town," Lyon said. "It's just the way things are."
Hulme disagrees and is shocked by the behavior, he said.
"Even in my wildest days I can't imagine drinking that much," he said. "Friends make bad judgements too."
Heavy drinking comes with health price
Students tend to think having mixed drinks rather than shots will be less risky, and they won't get as drunk, Sher said. But having four drinks instead of four shots doesn't make a difference.
"It's just more diluted, but your body is absorbing the same amount of alcohol," he said.
Drinking heavily is a part of people's behavior, whether they attempt the 21 drinks, Sher said.
"People need to recognize there's no way to get out of this event better than going into it," he said.
Beck, Lyon and Schweigerdt agree 21 drinks is a high amount and can be dangerous. All three estimated eight or nine drinks in a couple of hours is when alcohol levels start getting dangerous.
But in some cases, having as few as 10 drinks can push blood alcohol levels to 0.30, the point at which the respiratory system slows enough that death is possible, Sher said.
Hulme has spread awareness about the dangers of binge drinking for those about to turn 21 ever since his stepson's death, he said.
"You just never know," he said. "Who's to say if he had one or two less he'd be alive. No one knows the safe amount."
People tend to minimize the health risks if they are passed out or throwing up, Sher said.
One health concern is not all risks of binge drinking are known, Sher said.
Beck thinks the current generation's drinking habits are normal but just publicized more, she said. Young adults drink to more extremes and should celebrate with alcohol responsibly.
"I can see people wanting to get drunk, but not this," Sher said. "It's self-suicide."
The study will be published in The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in June.
Taylor Flores can be reached at tflores@theorion.com
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