A dangerous binge drinking game that’s trending worldwide has arrived at the UA.
“Neknominating” consists of people filming themselves drinking large combinations of alcoholic drinks after they have been challenged by a friend. At the end of the video, the person then nominates someone else to outdo their concoction.
“I guess I was nominated, but this isn’t really something I wanted to be nominated for,” said one UA student in a video uploaded to Facebook.
Videos uploaded to social media show UA students consuming alcoholic concoctions in various unusual circumstances. One student drinks a beer on a roof before jumping into the pool and then drinks from a beer bong in the pool. Another student drinks from a bottle full of liquors mixed with Tabasco sauce.
“You just cannot say no to a dare,” said another UA student in her video.
The challenges don’t always concern the quantity of alcohol the students are drinking; sometimes the challenge is the location. One video shows a student shotgunning a beer during a lecture in the Eller College of Management.
David Salafsky, director of health promotion and preventive services at UA Campus Health Service, said students should understand the serious consequences of the game. Five deaths linked to the game have been reported in the U.K.
“This ridiculous game should not be appealing to UA students because there should be greater things to do than chugging alcohol and spending the night in the hospital,” Salafsky said. “I hope the worldwide deaths hits home and UA students are smarter than this and don’t view the game as something they want to participate in.”
Salafsky said Campus Health has several programs to inform students of the risk of alcohol consumption.
“Campus Health will continue to do as much as they can to help by completing programs such as the red cup Q&A in the Daily Wildcat and alcohol awareness courses that students see in residence halls and greek houses,” Salafsky said.
The game is already being played by UA students, so the next step is awareness and protection.
Campus Health has seen a reduction in alcohol on campus since 2002. Those at Campus Health agree that the many deaths related to this game are helping students realize the dangers of alcohol consumption, according to Salafsky.
“We know alcohol consumption is still a high risk on the UA campus,” Salafsky said, “but with the many alcohol-related deaths in the worldwide headlines, we often look over the positive drinking practices that students are doing, such as setting a drink limit, finding a designated driver and creating the night’s plan so that they have a good, safe night.”
