Binge: What Your College Student Won't Tell You - Hardcover

..".much livelier...and in many cases he came away with much more information..." ("The New York Times," November 6, 2005)At just after 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning in October, Hamilton College's security chief received an emergency phone call. A first-year female student at the elite upstate New York liberal arts school had collapsed after downing 22 one-ounce shots of vodka in a drinking game. The incident was far from unusual: She was one of 20 inebriated students who had to be rushed to the hospital that semester.There are many such chilling anecdotes in "Binge," Barrett Seaman's disturbing account of his odyssey through undergraduate life at the start of the 21st century. Unlike lots of higher-education guides that are aimed at students, this book is clearly meant for parents. And as the subtitle -- "What Your College Student Won't Tell You" -- suggests, it's a sobering antidote to the institutions' glossy PR broadsides.Seaman, a former White House correspondent and edito

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.