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Feature I wrote for Bullet…the subject really interests me :)

When you look at going to university the quality of the nights out and the social life could be considered the most important factor when choosing your destination. Going out and getting drunk is the norm for many typical students and those 9am starts the morning after are certainly not appreciated.

Statistics released last year reveal that Lincoln has a binge drinking problem but is some of this fuelled by us students? According to LAPE(Local Alcohol profiles for England) Hospital admissions due to alcohol for both males and females were significantly worst in 2009 than previous years and binge drinking is only just below the countries average for the city.

Just like many other University towns Lincoln’s bars and clubs have many tempting offers all suitable for our student budgets. Fresher’s week saw promoters pounce on us giving us no other choice but to grab the leaflets and make a run for it before someone else tried to accost us. These leaflets filled us with information about drinks deals, vouchers and nights out which we were sure not to miss.  Major student events such as Carnage also give students the perfect opportunity to drink heavily. It was its first visit to the city this term and the event was a sell out.

“ I think that carnage does actually promote binge drinking as it is a bar crawl and the aim is for everyone to get drunk!” –Student who participated in the recent Carnage event.  

For many typical students their social lives heavily revolve around alcohol and some people say you master your drinking habits at university but, what if you spent your University life sober and made the decision to stay tee total for life?

It’s an interesting subject and there are not many students out there who choose not to drink. There can be many reasons why people choose not to some have let those bad experiences put them off for life whilst others have religious and personal reasons to enforce their decision.  We spoke to two students who have chosen to make the life changing decision.

“My grandfather’s death was caused by alcohol poisoning and, therefore, as
a child I was brought up as a Methodist - a Christian movement which
doesn’t believe in drinking alcohol. I feel healthier and often feel good about myself.”

“It (the alcohol) had a negative (depressant) effect on me; if I were to drink I would be worse off than if I didn’t.”

But some people would argue that choosing not to drink alcohol makes you different from your fellow students and being the sober one on nights out isn’t always something to boast about.

  “A lot of the time, I feel left out of the group as I feel I’m not fully participating and I also have to spend time explaining to pretty much everyone why I don’t
drink.”

 “It made me a bit of a social outcast, most people really struggled to understand that someone actually didn’t go out and get drunk, and eventually stopped me going out much at all.”

 How would you cope if you made the same decision, would you keep to it or would you let temptation and peer pressure get the better of you?

They say that you can have addictions to many things such as Drugs and Alcohol but Shoplifting isn’t something i’d call an addiction, it’s a blatent crime. 

Photo: Flickr

“I can’t stop stealing” broadcasted on BBC3 highlighted the amount of people addicted to taking goods from high street brands. The Programme focused on three people who bragged about their hobby in the hour long documentary. Many can steal thousands of pounds worth of goods each week and the show highlighted their sly tactics of avoiding security personnel. Is shoplifting the new “trend” then?

The show has shocked me as I don’t understand how people could be so proud of what they have done. I have never stolen anything in my life but If I was in their position I would be ashamed.

The University of Minnesota published a report into Shoplifting addictions which is also known as “Kleptomania” where people have the impulse to shoplift from stores..But, could the people on this programme get away with blaming their habits on this or is it just general dishonesty?

I’m sure they haven’t gained much respect or sympathy by bragging on National TV. Yes they may need to feed their heroin addiction or get out of thousands of pounds worth of debt but it really is their own fault in the first place and causing crime should be the last thing on their minds.

The Recession may make it tempting for some people to shoplift and in 2009 The BBC reported an increase in shoplifting due to the recession.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8347222.stm

So is it the new craze? Not for me i’m afraid.

After watching the documentary shop owners could now rightfully ask for their goods back knowing it was stolen by that particular person who never got caught in the first place.

Jennie who has been stealing for over 40 years claimed that she stole to “keep people in their jobs” but shocking figures have revealed that the products stolen is costing the Retail sector thousands of pounds and in some cases(for smaller businesses especially)this has damaging effects.

It’s these smaller stores who are unable to afford the expense of Security and they rely on the goodwill and honesty of their customers to purchase the goods they need. 

Working in Retail is tough and if people continue to steal from our stores people like myself will be out of work. Prices will need to be increased to help businesses recover the revenue they have lost something I’m sure no-one wants either. 

So I wonder if the people featured in this programme have gained what they wanted out of this programme. Was their 60 minutes worth the humiliation or have they got themselves into more trouble? They may not get as much attention as Cat Bin woman but I hope they do deep down feel ashamed of themselves because I certainly would.