Why Underage Drinking Is Bad
There’s a New York Times article recently called The Grim Neurology of Teenage Drinking which discusses the physical problems that can be caused by drinking at an early age. Alcohol apparently damages developing young brains significantly more than it does adult brains. Moreoever, early drinking seems to foster alcoholism:
The new findings may help explain why people who begin drinking at an early age face enormous risks of becoming alcoholics. According to the results of a national survey of 43,093 adults, published yesterday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 47 percent of those who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 14 become alcohol dependent at some time in their lives, compared with 9 percent of those who wait at least until age 21. The correlation holds even when genetic risks for alcoholism are taken into account.
In light of the drinking that goes on at Cornell and other universities, the article is probably a worthwhile read. While just one source isn’t going to act as a preventative for the next Matt Pearlstone, it might help students moderate their drinking habits.
I’ll leave you with one last salient quotation:
“There is no doubt about it now: there are long-term cognitive consequences to excessive drinking of alcohol in adolescence,” said Aaron White, an assistant research professor in the psychiatry department at Duke University and the co-author of a recent study of extreme drinking on college campuses.
Pearlstone in the Princetonian
Seems like Kate Carroll from the Daily Princetonian has written the Matthew Pearlstone article I’ve been wanting to see. Of particular interest are her quotations from Julie Kovach, MD:
“I remember being especially disturbed by his attitude and concerned that other teenagers might read his posts and think his behavior was ‘normal’ or accepted,” Kovach, who is also a medical doctor, said in an email. “He also was clearly intelligent and articulate … and very persuasive in his twisted arguments that other teenagers were reading,” Kovach said. “Lucifer11287 clearly knew the facts, but chose to continue his multiple high risk behaviors.”
There is one inaccuracy in this article, however. Kate Carroll writes, “The profile has been removed from the Facebook, but screenshots of it are available on several blogs.” Not true. It’s only available right here.
Matt Pearlstone’s Facebook Profile
If you haven’t been following the Matthew Pearlstone story, here are a few article to bring you up to speed:
His facebook profile is then of particular interest to those interested in his untimely alcohol-related death. Here is a jpg image of it, which you can click to see a higher-resolution view:
As you may note, most of the entries on his wall are from after news of his death was released to his friends. Here are some selected older wall comments:
- Siddharth Bal says, “It’s all about whiskey and rye!”
- Joe Thomas says, “hey super gay, you better give me a call over spring break so we can drink. if you’re too gay thats cool, though.”
- Paul Kiehl says, “That’s not how you take your shoes off at night! Michael must have taken them off for you because you were passed out!”
- Jason Verma says, “A toast to the greatest bartender the world will ever see… you’re crazy man :-p”
- Katherine Collins says, “happy bday pstone..hope college is going well and you are drinking yourself to death”
- Michael Gabel says, “why do i have a sneaking suspicion that this is the last night that pearlstone will be alive…”
- Yas Dagli says, “pearlstone is single…and he knows his hydration”
- Daniel Kordenbrock says, “Yo pearlstone you remember what happened last week at all? i was curious to see if you survived”
- Jason Simon says, “pstone, im not talking about me, kordenbrock is ripping on you about how he beat you in 2 drinking competitions, he said you were a pussy.”
- Elizabeth Salozzo says, “P-Stone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my little alcoholic..how are you. i miss you.boo!! we better chill on thanksgiving break! luv yas”
- Dalton Huck says, “Pearlstone, i miss ur weird crazy ass..have fun, but don’t kill urself…u’ve had 2 close encounters…3 strikes ur out buddy..hahah seeay”
- Jaydev Mahadevan says, “P-stone – looking forward to an encounter between yo crunk ass and one of the two gorges that surround campus….I kid, I kid. But seriously, if it happens, dont hate on me for laughing.”
As you can see, much of his wall is concerned with alcohol, parties, and drinking–an online testament to his offline behavior.
