It was a friend’s birthday and I can only imagine what I did or said, but really he’s to blame; inviting me over to pre-drink in the early afternoon. Indeed, it’s a longstanding tradition amongst students to ‘save money’ by drinking at home.
And we’ve all done it – a tricky attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting bar folk. £3.30 a pint? Heh, I’ll show them.
Yet, as I woke up this morning, my wallet as empty as the swear jar in a nunnery, the false economy of this bizarre ritual became apparent.
Young adults who engage in pre-drinking, also called pre-lashing, or in my circle of friends “heavy heavy cheeky bevy,” are more likely to drink gratuitously over the course of a night.
I’m no science student (or I probably wouldn’t be writing this article), but I think it has something to do with a portion of the ethanol you drink passing through your stomach to your small intestine, thus being absorbed into your bloodstream and carried to your brain.
Alcohol’s addictive chemical triggers the release of dopamine, which produces feelings of satisfaction.
It also increases the production of the brain’s natural painkiller – endorphin – which could be the means by which the brain becomes trained to crave. So, when we pre-drink, we’re actually genetically inclined, to drink more.
It might also be because drinking affects the glutamate and GABA, chemicals which control how essential messages are sent between nerve cells in the brain.
I’m probably wrong, but as I said, I’m no science student.
In any case, it’s the economics that concern me. I’d spent just under a tenner on a student staple of Red Stripe, Doritos and more Red Stripe, in the hope that I might foil the gatekeepers of my local establishment. But factoring in the taxi and inevitable kebab at the roadside in the early hours of the next morning, my night out added up to thirty quid, almost the same as a day’s wages for many part time jobs.
Ignore the fact I live in the south, I still think that’s pushing it. On top of the cost, I barely remember a thing, so in fact, my night was wasted, largely down to getting the ball rolling a good few hours before I ever intended going out.
Pre drinking negates the idea of a night on the town. If we drink in our houses, there ceases to be any novelty in leaving them. You’re drinking in one room and then later on in another. If you’re going to go out then you may as well just do that in the first place.
In trying to sidestep publicans, we risk being outsmarted ourselves, by our own biology. Ourgh.
Ourgh. Not only is this irellevant to most student lives (not surprising) but grossly scientifically inaccurate. Thought you would have known better Vision. But at least you aren’t as bad as Nouse.
Oosh. Mental mental.
I agree with Guy. As we all know full well the overwhelming majority of students at this University are agoraphobic, tee teetotalers who have never gone “out” whatever that is and therefore have no desire to read this light hearted, affable dross about “pre drinking” whatever that is.
Also as Vision should know there is nothing the York student desires more from it’s student media but rigorous scientific accuracy from every article published, being the room bound anoraks that we are largely are.
Good one Guy.
Can’t help but feel this whole article was just for Rohan to boast about a) living in the south, b) how crazyyyy mental drunk he got ladladlad.
Tragic.
You’re shit. Go back to NoUse.
Loved this article not going to lie! Shame about Newcastle’s season though…
Aight, this one time I got loadsa drinks from the co op cos there was a deal on where you could get loads but no pay loads. Aimed at the benefit market, but we students benefit too aight. So I drank them and the more I drank them, the more I thought that stuff I wouldn’t normally do was a good idea, so I would do stuff like dance to S-Club more provocatively than usual, then I drank more and I started texting girls and stuff, being like ‘oi i’m coming out, meet me in willow and i’ll put my cracker in your prawn’ etc.
Then I went out and I drank more and I was drunk and when I was drunk I wanted to drink more cos that’s what the whole club was doing. Then I drank more then I went home.
I have now written an article for vision right? That’s all it takes??
As a fellow huge lad from the south I feel like I can agree with rohan’s senitments. The great white shark once again provides an excelent critique of a pre drinks culture that enables him to go out and lad up the north. I think this article should convince everyone, particularly history students, to go to kuda tomorrow.