World Famous Comics: Binge: What Your College Student Won't Tell You
Binge: What Your College Student Won't Tell You
By: Barrett Seaman Publisher: Wiley Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Wiley Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: August 25, 2006
Product Description: In Binge, Barrett Seaman reveals what every parent, student, and educator needs to know about the college experience. Seaman spent time with students at twelve highly regarded and diverse colleges and universities across North America. During his two years of research, he immersed himself in the lives of the students, often living in their dorms, dining with them, speaking with them on their own terms, and listening to them express their thoughts and feelings. Portraying a campus culture in which today’s best and brightest students grapple with far more than academic challenges, Binge conveys the unprecedented stresses on campus today. While sharing revealing interviews and the often dramatic stories, Seaman explores the complexities of romantic relationships and sexual relations, alcohol and drug use, anxiety and depression, class and racial boundaries, and more. Despite the disturbing trends, Seaman finds reasons for optimism and offers provocative and well-informed suggestions for improving the undergraduate experience. Sometimes alarming, always fascinating, and ultimately hopeful, Binge is an extraordinary investigative work that reveals the realities of higher education today.
Great Book This book should be required reading for any parents or family that has a college student or one that's looking at colleges-it gives a thorough review of college culture and current issues on campus as they effect students.
A little long at times but very important book to read Having read some of the reviews on this page I felt like I needed to give my take on the book. I'm currently a student at Northwestern and I can say that Seaman's coverage and description of American University life is very accurate and exposing. At times the book is a bit dry and slow moving but overall it flows fairly well. This book is perfect for prospective college students, their parents, and anyone concerned about policy effecting America's youth. There are serious problems on college campuses especially with drinking.
I read a review titled "Sincere but sadly unsatisfying" saying that the students he covers are "elite students [who] have way too much time and money on their hands." I would have to refute this point. At these "elite" schools they spend an enormous amount of money to make sure that students who need financial aid get it, and that the student bodies are diverse. If an individual is smart enough they can go to Harvard regardless of financial situation. Because of this the schools he covers actually illustrate how the drinking epidemic on college campuses is universal among youth.
The book is worth reading if you are interested in the subject of how college life functions now a days. It's the best book out on the subject and the most accurate. Pregaming and other social phenomena were not around 30 years ago, this is the kind of thing the book brings to light. But even if you are well aware of the "age of excess" that we live in, "Binge" is still an entertaining and informative read.
College kids drink? Guess what: college kids drink gallons of beer, take copious amounts of drugs, have sex, and rarely go to class. Unfortunately, I summed the the entire book in that one sentence.
If you have graduated from college within the last ten years, you are hardly shocked by what you will read. If you have not graduated from college within the last ten years and are surprised by what you read, you must have your head in the sand.
Mohab Hanna, M.D. Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist- author of "Making the Connection: A Parent's Guide to Medication in ADHD" This book is must reading for any parent whose son or daughter is going off to college. The auhor provides a disturbing, yet unfortunately accurate portrayal of the excesses of college life on many of our finest institutions. The material here should be a wake-up call to parents. This book reinforces the need for many parents to have indepth honest discussions about alcohol, drugs, sex, etc...
Must Reading for Parents of College Applicants The author, Barrett Seaman, is a Hamilton alumnus and present Trustee. Having graduated from Kirkland College (which merged with Hamilton College) in 1978, I was skeptical at first about what this book might have to say that was new to me. I was surprised to find that much has changed on college campuses.
The social disconnect which has occurred within the student body, and in faculty/student interaction brought about by advances in technology, has caused a decline in the sense of "community" and general camaraderie within the student body.
The raising of the legal drinking age to 21 has caused students to drink on the sly, binging on hard liquor before going out, possibly to drink more. Hence the staggering rise in alcohol-related transports to emergency rooms, and even deaths.
The number of entering students who are on psychiatric medication brings a whole host of new problems to campus: inappropriate use of medication; failure to take medication; possibly students who should not be on campus at all.
And liability concerns lead the colleges to enforce drinking ages and to provide counseling and therapy. With all of our advances, there appears to be an increase in the suicide rate of college students as well.
In addition, Binge covers collegiate sports, today's sexual culture of "hooking up" and questions of academic ethics. This book is a real eye-opener.
If you have children who are approaching the college application age, I would highly recommend that you read Binge.
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