DR. WALLACE: You said that there is a high correlation between college students' grades and the amount of alcohol they drink. You said that those who don't drink or drink only small amounts of alcohol earn better grades than those who drink a lot of alcohol. Where did you get your data?
My fraternity roommate and I consume a lot of liquor weekly, but we are both excellent students. If alcohol is so destructive, why do college bigwigs host cocktail parties? The human race has been consuming alcohol for centuries, and this wonderful tradition will last forever! — Student, University of Illinois
STUDENT: The Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse compiled data from more than 3,000 four-year colleges and universities and found that students were split into two groups when it came to alcohol consumption: those who rarely drank or never drink and those who drink often and sometimes to excess. To no one's surprise, the heavy drinkers were indeed the poorest students.
In a study at Southern Illinois University, it was determined that students with poor grade-point averages consumed, on average, more than 11 alcoholic drinks per week, and students with the highest grade-point averages had four drinks per week or less. Several top students did not consume alcohol at all.
This is a general picture. Students can crash and burn in college for reasons other than overdrinking. And yes, some very heavy drinkers still manage to pull down decent grades — postponing the collapse of their lives from alcohol abuse until middle age, perhaps. And while there's still hypocrisy on campus — with teachers and administrators hosting cocktail parties while condemning student drinking — there is a growing trend in academia to make school-related functions alcohol-free.
I'm passionate in my belief that society would benefit at every level — the family, community, the state and the nation — if alcohol were suddenly to disappear from our lives.
IT'S JUST OLD-FASHIONED LUST!
DR. WALLACE: I'm not having a sexual relationship with the guy I'm seeing, but it's obvious that if we continue to see one another that we will become intimate — soon. We are mature high school seniors. Of course, I'll insist that he uses a condom when we share love, but not getting pregnant isn't my only worry. This guy has slept with a lot of girls, and I'm deathly afraid of getting a sexually transmitted disease.
I'm aware that condoms don't give 100-percent protection against all sexually transmitted diseases. Are there any outward signs that a guy might be infected? — Anonymous, Seattle, Washington
ANONYMOUS: Outward appearances are unlikely to give any indication that someone has a STD. Most people who are infected look normal, and many are not even aware that they are infected, increasing the chance that they'll spread their highly contagious disease to others.
Since you claim to be "deathly afraid" of getting a STD, why would you even consider a sexual relationship at this point? A sexual relationship with this Romeo would not be considered sharing love; it's just old-fashioned lust!
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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