FOCO or FOMO?

FOCO OR FOMO? The pressures and implications behind social drinking

ALAN CHENG Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) Class of 2023

ABSTRACT Homecoming (HOCO) and Fake Homecoming (FOCO) celebrations in Ontario universities have increased in size and popularity, resulting in increased government spending and cases of alcohol abuse among students. Alcohol reduces the connectivity between parts of the brain, leading to a desensitization of emotional processing and threat detection —a double-edged sword as facilitator for socializing and impairment to danger. Early exposure to binge drinking at occasions like HOCO and FOCO also contribute to issues, such as alcoholism, during adulthood. Despite knowing the effects of alcohol, students still choose to drink irresponsibly which indicates social, development, and environmental factors which are overriding their morality. Solutions to alcohol abuse are complex due to the various factors that affect drinking, and it requires multi-level action from governments, universities, communities, families, and the students themselves. A stronger push towards celebrating HOCO for its original tradition of building school spirit and community must be considered and that ultimately comes down to the individual no matter what the conditions are.

Introduction If you are reading this, chances are you are probably someone currently studying in university and you may or may not have had your fair share of experiences with alcohol, whether it be at parties or university-wide traditions such as Homecoming (HOCO) or the recently popularized Fake Homecoming (FOCO). With over 2000 students at Dalewood Avenue and 130 police officers present during the 2019 FOCO, damage was bound

to happen in terms of neighbourhood noise and 1. Malik S. McMaster students celebrate a fake homecomlitter. 1,2 However, the magnitude of FOCO pales in ing [Internet]. The Silhouette. 2019 Sep 26. Available comparison to other university celebrations across from: https://www.thesil. ca/mcmaster-students-celthe province. In Waterloo, around 33,000 students ebrate-a-fake-homecoming [cited 2020 Jan 18]. from both Wilfrid Laurier University and the Uni2. O’Reilly N. ‘Unsanctioned’ McMaster street party draws versity of Waterloo flock Ezra Avenue during March thousands of students [Inter- net]. The Hamilton Spectator. to celebrate St.Patrick’s Day —costing the public 2019 Sep 23. Available from: https://www.thespec.com/ nearly $800,000 to control the party in 2019.3 Adnews-story/9608989--un- sanctioned-mcmaster-streetditionally, there were 80 calls for emergency mediparty-draws-thousands-ofstudents/ [cited 2020 Jan cal services during the celebration, with 59 people 3. 18]. Outhit J. Ezra street par- sent to the emergency room for issues primarily ties are ‘a rite of passage’ not easily ended, Waterloo involving overconsumption of alcohol, head injutask force warns [Internet]. TheRecord.com. 2019 Sep ries, lacerations, falls, and fractures. 3 University 6. Available from: https:// www.therecord.com/ traditions like FOCO often give students a reason news-story/9584894-ezrastreet-parties-are-a-rite-ofto drink and many times go overboard, putting passage-not-easily-endedwaterloo-task-force-warns/ pressure on not only themselves but also the sur4. [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Alcohol.org. Effects of alcohol rounding community. on the body and mind: short and long-term. Available from: https://www.alcohol. org/effects/ [cited 2020 Alcohol as a Vehicle 5. Jan 18]. Oscar-Berman M, Marinkovic In university traditions, there is almost an expecK. Alcoholism and the brain: An overview. Alcohol Res tation to socialize and talk to new people by putting Health. 2003;27(2):125- 33. Available from: https:// yourself out there. Alcohol serves as a facilitator pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-2/125-133. for this due to its effects on the brain —it reduces 6. htm [cited 2020 Jan 18]. Murray EA, Izquierdo A. one’s self-consciousness and in turn makes one Orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala contributions more open to others— it is a social lubricant. 4 As to affect and action in primates. Ann NY Acad Sci. a depressant which slows down the central ner2007;1121:273-96. Avail able from: doi:10.1196/an vous system, alcohol consumption reduces levels 7. nals.1401.021. Gorka SM, Fitzgerald DA, of anxiety, decreases coordination, causes loss of King AC, Phan KL. Alcohol attenuates amygdala-fronvision, and impairs one’s judgement. 4 One of the tal connectivity during processing social signals main areas that alcohol targets is the brain, parin heavy social drinkers: A preliminary pharmaco-fmri ticularly the cerebellum, amygdala, and orbitofstudy. Psychopharmacology. 2013;229(1):141-54. rontal cortex (OFC). 5 Available from: doi:10.1007/ s00213-013-3090-0. 8. Sayette MA, Creswell KG, Dimoff JD, Fairbairn CE, The amygdala and OFC have been found to work Cohn JF, Heckman BW, et al. Alcohol and group together in processing and decoding emotional information: A multimodal investigation of the effects put, and alcohol’s effects on social behaviour are of alcohol on emotion and social bonding. Psychol thought to be caused by changes in connectivity Sci. 2012;23(8):869-78. between these regions of the brain. 6,7 Specifically, when heavy drinkers were given socio-emotional stimuli (angry, fearful, and happy faces) to process, alcohol significantly desensitized the amygdala to threat signals and reduced amygdala-OFC connectivity, resulting in dampened emotional response towards the stimuli. 7 Therefore, when intoxicated, students may misperceive the threat of dangerous stimuli due to their dampened amygdala reactivity and/or reduced amygdala-OFC interactions, increasing the pressure on medical support

services. Furthermore, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that alcohol not only increased the time that a group of three strangers talked to each other, but also increased the frequency of genuine smiles along with the synchronized occurence of these smiles. 8 The benefits of alcohol in lightening mood and encouraging smiles makes its almost inevitable for it to not be a part of social events like HOCO/FOCO, suggesting an inherent issue in the process that must be addressed.

Growing Pains To many, university is a time to experience newfound freedom and independence. When far from home and friends, students can struggle with finding their people and being “one with the crowd” with others. 9 People are typically motivated to behave in ways that will show socially-desirable images of themselves. One’s concerns about acceptance, social image, and fitting in potentially serve as major determinants on drinking behaviour among students. 10 Arnet’s theory of Emerging Adulthood describes the period from late teens to mid-twenties, where young adults take risks and test their limits to discover who they are in an unregulated environment with others experiencing the same thing. 11 From a developmental psychology standpoint, consumption of alcohol in university may in fact be something almost expected —a rite of passage. While everyone responds to change differently and have diverse coping mechanisms, many changes in university may have both positive and negative influences in terms of a developmental perspective. 12 In other words, one’s decision to drink, while negative at times, may indicate their desire to mature and grow up faster.

Additionally, personal experience with alcohol allows young adults to better reflect upon the consequences of alcohol use, prompting them to have better judgement in the future. This raises the question of whether students should be the ones blamed for the damage caused by FOCO when the act of drinking is something that is almost natural for them to do.

Future Consequences Available from:- doi:10.1177/0956797611435134. While some may consider the occasional 9. Borsari B, Carey KB. Peer influenc- es on college drinking: A review episode of drinking at HOCO to be of the research. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2001;13(4):391-424. Avail- rather unharmful, it only takes one able from: doi:10.1016/s0899- 3289(01)00098-0. drink to set yourself up for alcohol-related 10. University of Minnesota. Why Stu- dents Drink. Available from: https:// issues in the future. Experiments on mice www.cehd.umn.edu/fsos/research/ alcohol/whydrink.asp [cited 2020 conducted by researchers at the University of 11. Jan 18]. Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood. A Illinois revealed that teenage binge drinking theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. Am Psymay cause changes in particular gene exchol. 2000;55(5):469-80. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pressions in the brain, which can potentialpubmed/10842426 [cited 2020 Jan 18]. ly contribute to alcohol abuse in later adult 12. Schulenberg JE, Maggs JL. A developmental perspective on alcohol use and life. 13 High levels of alcohol consumption in heavy drinking during adolescence and the transition to young adulthood. mice was found to increase levels of miR-137, J Stud Alcohol Suppl. 2002;(14):54- 70. Available from: doi:10.15288/ a short non-coding regulatory RNA molecule, 13. jsas.2002.s14.54. Kyzar EJ, Bohnsack JP, Zhang H, Pancompletely changing the molecule’s regular dey SC. Microrna-137 drives epigene tic reprogramming in the adult amyg function and impacting brain development. 13 dala and behavioral changes after adolescent alcohol exposure. eNeuro. When the mice were later analyzed in adult2019;6(6):ENEURO.0401-19.2019. Available from: doi:10.1523/ENEUhood, they were more likely than the rodents 14. RO.0401-19.2019. Grant BF, Dawson DA. Age at onset who did not initially drink to choose alcohol of alcohol use and its association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and deover water. 13 pendence: results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. J Subst Abuse. 1997;9:103- 10. Available from: doi:10.1016/ While most of the students in university are 15. s0899-3289(97)90009-2. Rose RJ. A developmental behavover the legal drinking age, results from the ior-genetic perspective on alcoholism risk. Alcohol Health Res World. 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemi1998;22(2):131-43. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ologic Survey found that people found that pubmed/15706788 [cited 2020 Jan 18]. the odds of lifetime alcohol dependence and 16. Wilson A. Students promote Homecoming safety. Queen’s Gazette. 2019 abuse were reduced by 14% and 8%, respecOct 17. Available from: https://www. queensu.ca/gazette/stories/stutively, for each increasing year of age at initiadents-promote-homecoming-safety [cited 2020 Jan 18]. tion. 14 Therefore, it may be beneficial for pro17. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety grams to focus on limiting underage alcohol Facts 2000: Young Drivers. Washington, DC: NHTSA; 2001. 5 p. Report access and consumption first. However, the No.: DOT HS–809–336. results from this study had no temporality to the relationship, raising the question if early age drinking causes alcoholism or if it just demonstrates an existing vulnerability to alcohol use disorders.1 4 It has been found that people who partake in early drinking and alcoholism share similar personality traits, such as strong tendencies to act impulsively and to seek out new experiences and sensations. 15 While a nature vs. nurture issue is at play when considering the impact of FOCO on students, it is indisputable that the exposure of binge drinking at an early age does serve as a gateway for future heavy alcohol abuse.

The Future Fortunately, many universities and colleges in Ontario have implemented measures to combat this issue. During their HOCO celebration in 2019,

Queens University created a collection of short videos about safety.16 Featuring the tagline “Save our Paws”, the video addresses the issue of broken glass on the streets, but instead of focusing on cleaning it up, it reminds students to keep the safety of animals in mind, as small shards of glass can injure the paws of dogs walking in the streets. 16 Although campaigns like this are somewhat effective, it is naive to rely solely on them to solve the issue. Higher powers such as legislation and university governing bodies need to take action to restrict the accessibility of alcohol to young adults. While each country has had its own successes with decreasing alcohol abuse, there is no correct method. There are multiple ways to target availability, such as raising the legal drinking age and implementing zero-tolerance laws. When the United States raised the legal drinking age to 21, an estimated 20,000 lives were saved between 1975 and 2000. 17 Factors such as marketing, accessibility, and pricing will ultimately change the way a population drinks, but the control of alcohol is far more complicated than a couple of decisions.

Conclusion Solving the problem of underage drinking and alcohol abuse in young adults is a multifaceted issue, including personal, social, and environmental factors. Strategies such as governmental interventions, school-wide policies, and peer support can alleviate the issue but they can only go so far. It comes down to the user itself, and students should return to the core reason for celebration —at the end of the day, HOCO is for a football game, not a reason to get drunk.

THE MEDUCOLLAB Volume 1, Issue 1 Published September 2020

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