It was Saturday night and I was sitting in my dorm room, just trying to enjoy the movie “How to Marry a Millionaire,” and the unusual silence of Neumann Hall.

After the movie finished, I took a shower, and finally passed out in the middle of an episode of “Courage the Cowardly Dog.”

When I woke up, I saw some guy throwing up his guts in my room.

Luckily, he made it to the trashcan, but at the same time, I was in a barely conscious state and the main question on my mind was “What is going on around here?” I was told that he had something called jungle juice.

Jungle juice is the most lethal type of mixed drink because the measurements of the liquor in it are inaccurate. It consists of any type of alcohol nearby —which was dangerous for the guy in my room, because the jungle juice for that night consisted of three bottles of cheap vodka, and multiple parts beer. The reason it’s called jungle juice is because it makes you go wild.

After he threw up, my roommate, Kevin (who is his friend) and I stayed up for a little bit, just to make sure that he was going to be OK, and so we could keep an eye on his breathing.

Kevin and I fell asleep around four in the morning. I woke up at 7:30 to find that the guy was still passed out on my floor, my roommate was asleep, and the other guy went back home.

It’s a nightmarish type hell that people take the risk of going through with, while others know they can handle it. It’s a little thing called drinking, but for some it’s not legal yet. So, the big question for them is, why?

Underage drinking is a major problem, and with the parties going on near campus, the problem doesn’t shrink. Rather, it explodes to a size of epic proportions.

If you’re under 17, or are 17, 18, 19 or 20; what’s the urge to just pour alcohol in your system? I couldn’t help but wonder. Sure, it makes you seem older, but with a great drink comes great consequences.

When it comes to underage drinking, and the knowledge that your liver can’t process big amounts of it, why are underage people taking the risk?

Alcohol is something that is about as deadly as running a line of cocaine. Both are drugs, and if the improper dosage is taken, the consequences are worse than the high.

Underage drinking is a problem since many college students aren’t sure about one of the cardinal rules of drinking… drink what you can.

When I say, “drink what you can,” I mean that people have to make sure that they can handle their liquor. If the effects of alcohol start to hit you after one or two drinks then stop right there because you are in no shape to drink anymore.

Come on, we all took parts one and two of the Alcohol Education course to get into Buffalo State, well, most of us, at least.

According to the 2013 National Study of Drug Use on Humans, approximately 5.4 million people between the ages of 12 and 20 engaged in binge drinking. Seriously, this is egregious. It seems that people are in a rush to grow up.

Sure, it may be cool to just drink, but is it really worth it in the end?

The parties around campus serve alcohol to anyone as long as they get the apparent fee of five dollars to get inside. It’s dangerous due to the fact that if you put your drink down, anyone could slip anything into it. Now, don’t get me started on mixed drinks!

As I mentioned earlier, if there is jungle juice at a party, don’t drink it. If you can’t resist, don’t drink too much of it. It may seem cool in that moment, but when you’re lying in a hospital bed with alcohol poisoning, it might not seem as awesome. Drinking underage can be lethal, regardless of whether you can handle your liquor or not.

While some of the consequences of underage drinking are still years ahead, try to be safe and remember the difference between having a drink, and getting drunk.

Email: [email protected]