UW-Madison physiology professor Kevin Strang gave a presentation on The Science of Drinking"" Friday as part of the Wisconsin Alumni Association's First-Year Parents' Weekend.
Most attendees were parents of freshmen interested in hearing about the true physiological effect of drinking on their children.
""There's a lot of cultural knowledge [about drinking] among our students,"" Strang said. ""Some of it's true, some of it's not.""
Strang encouraged parents to help their children comprehend the negative effects of alcohol on their bodies and minds. He said parents should not preach to their children about avoiding alcohol entirely.
""'Just say no' messages don't work,"" Strang said of his approach to students.
He asked young people to practice moderation by maintaining a one to two drink limit to maintain memory, intelligence and reputation. He said having one drink a day is actually proven to be healthier than entirely abstaining from alcohol.
Throughout his presentation, Strang addressed common questions like ""Why does whiskey burn?"" and ""Why is 21 a good drinking age?""
He promoted waiting until the legal drinking age to consume alcohol because the brain undergoes necessary development before then.
Many attendees of Strang's presentation said they were in favor of the university mandating an alcohol education course for freshmen.
""I think there is a tremendous drinking problem on all campuses,"" said Stacey Strumeyer, a mother of a UW-Madison freshman. ""There were definitely things I learned and I would like to share some of that with my son.""
Strang offered advice to students who choose to drink. He said students should always eat before consuming alcohol and take in plenty of sports drinks the morning after.
According to Strang, sports drinks replenish the body with the necessary sugar, salt and electrolytes it needs, and taking a multivitamin does more good than a painkiller-like aspirin.
He said students should not spend the day studying before going out and drinking, because a student needs at least 7 hours of deep rapid eye movement sleep in order to retain material studied.
Strang suggested parents address Chancellor Biddy Martin to request the administration pay more attention to the issue.
He said he wanted students to take full advantage of their years at the university.
""Learning is what they're here to do '¦ If they're smarter about how to use alcohol, they won't undermine their college careers.
