Family - Meet The Simpsons Essays - Marge Simpson, The Simpsons

Family - Meet The Simpsons Meet the Simpsons Over time, the definition of what exactly family means has changed with time. Usually, what constitutes making up a family is relative to a specific culture, but as always, there are exceptions to the rule. Ever since the golden age of television had sprung upon American culture, television has tried to mimic the ideal American family through it's programming. Even as early as the 1950's, television producers made programming that would represent what exactly the ideal American family was. Take for example the show Leave It to Beaver. While I am not going to go in detail about each character, I am going to summarize the family structure and the role of the member. There was a father figure, his job, or responsibility rather, was to financially support the family, while being an exemplary father to his children. The mother on the other hand, was solely responsible for being a typical housewife, while not neglecting the rearing of her children. The children did not have any real responsibility, but they respected their parents and attempted to stay out of trouble. Television shows for the most part in this early era of programming followed among these lines. There has always been at least one show each decade that followed the evolution of American life. In the 1960's, there was the Andy Griffith Show. In the 1970's, there was a different spin on family life with the show All in the Family, which did not have the typical white collar father, and its emphasis was not on raising the children, rather it was after the children had grown up. While in the 1980's there was a split in the television programming representation of American families. There were still shows that represented the ideal American family, such as Different Strokes and Family Ties as well as The Cosby Show, but there was also a more realistic representation of American life in Married With Children. However, it is not in a drama that American family life is best represented in the 1990's. Instead, it is in the animated series, The Simpsons. The Simpsons follows suit with the other dramas that reflected the decade in which they aired. According to the U.S. consensus for March 1998, the majority of households in America are married couples (U.S. Consensus pp. 1, 3,4,6). The Simpson's meet this. Also according to the consensus, the average married couple has approximately 2.6 children per household (U.S. Consensus, Household Characteristics p.1). Since there cannot be six-tenths of a child, I will round up to three children, in which the Simpson family has: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Also, the average American is a blue-collar worker. The father figure, Homer, meets this factor with his job at the nuclear power plant within his hometown of Springfield. So according to the statistics, the Simpson family could be considered an average American family. In the next part of the essay, I will look at each individual character of the Simpson family, and try to relate how that individual could be considered a typical American. I attempt to avoid using stereotypes, but nothing is full proof. I will look at some of the character's traits and try to relate how that is a parody of an American. First, I will begin with discussing the character of Homer Simpson. As you might know, Homer is the father figure of the household, whose responsibilities include financially supporting the household, since he is the household's primary source of income. He has his flaws like any person would, but somehow he and his family tend to work it out. Some of his mishaps are very similar to those that most of us have had to face. For example, he leaves the keys in his door to the house quite often (Hall, The Homer File p. 2). Another example, would be the time when he attempted to un-jam a toaster by shoving a knife in and out of it (Hall, The Homer File p.2). Homer also expresses concerns over his obesity as well as being a bad father (Hall, The Homer File p. 3). He also has a problem with his cursing, as well as his consumption of alcohol (Hall,

Biography of Mary Boleyn, the Boleyn Survivor

Biography of Mary Boleyn, the Boleyn Survivor Mary Boleyn (ca. 1499/1500–July 19, 1543) was a courtier and noblewoman at the court of Henry VIII of England. She was one of the king’s earlier mistresses before being supplanted by her sister Anne and marrying a soldier with little income. However, her absence from court allowed her to escape blame when her sister fell, and she was permitted to inherit what remained of the Boleyn property and fortune. Fast Facts: Mary Boleyn Occupation: CourtierKnown For: Sister of Anne Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII, and survivor of the Boleyns downfallBorn: circa 1499/1500 in Norfolk, EnglandDied: July 19, 1543 in EnglandSpouse(s): Sir William Carey (m. 1520-1528); William Stafford (m. 1534-1543)Children: Catherine Carey Knollys, Henry Carey, Edward Stafford, Anne Stafford Early Life in England and France Because of the shoddy record-keeping in the Tudor era, historians cannot pinpoint Mary’s exact date of birth or even her place in the birth order among the three Boleyn siblings. Most agree, however, that she was born around 1499 or 1500 at the Boleyn family home, Blickling Hall in Norfolk, and that she was the eldest child of Thomas Boleyn and his wife Katherine, nà ©e Lady Katherine Howard. The couple soon had another daughter, Anne, and a son, George. Mary was educated at her family’s primary seat, Hever Castle in Kent, along with her siblings. Her education consisted of basic school subjects such as math, history, reading, and writing, as well as the various skills and crafts required of a lady of noble birth, such as embroidery, music, etiquette, and dancing. When she was about fifteen, Mary’s father secured her a position in the royal court of France as a maid of honor to Princess Mary Tudor, soon to be Queen Mary of France. A Royal Mistress Twice Over Although young, Mary quickly established herself in the new queen’s household. Even when Queen Mary was widowed in 1515 and returned to England, Mary was permitted to stay behind at the court of Francis I. Her father Thomas, now the ambassador to France, and her sister Anne joined her. Between 1516 and 1519, Mary remained at the French court. While there, she apparently gained a reputation for her romantic behavior, having multiple affairs, including one with King Francis. Modern historians question whether contemporary accounts of her affairs were exaggerated or not; it certainly didn’t help that Francis infamously called her â€Å"a very great whore, the most infamous of all.† The Boleyns (aside from Anne) returned to England sometimes in 1519, and Mary was married to a respectable and wealthy courtier, William Carey, on February 2, 1520. She was given a position as a lady-in-waiting to the queen, Katherine of Aragon. Although King Henry was still fairly happy in his marriage to Katherine, it was well-known at this point that he often had affairs with the ladies of the court. One such affair, with a woman named Bessie Blount, resulted in an illegitimate son: Henry Fitzroy, whom the king acknowledged as his bastard. The queen, who had suffered several miscarriages and stillbirths and was approaching the end of her childbearing years, had no choice but to look the other way. At some point, though historians are unsure as to precisely when, Henry’s gaze fell on Mary, and they began an affair. In the early 1520s, Mary had two children: a daughter, Catherine Carey, and a son, Henry Carey. The rumor that King Henry fathered Catherine, Henry, or both has persisted and gained popularity, but there is no actual evidence behind the theory. The Other Boleyn For a time, Mary was the favorite of the court and the king (and thus of her family). However, in 1522, her sister Anne returned to England and also joined the queen’s court, although she and Mary likely moved in different circles, given Anne’s intense intellectual interests which Mary was not known to share. Anne became one of the more popular ladies at court, and, like so many before her, caught the attentions of the king. Unlike others, however, she refused to become his mistress. Many historians have interpreted this as an early sign of her ambitions to be queen, but other scholars have suggested that she simply was uninterested and would have preferred he cease his attentions so she could make a good, legitimate match. By 1527, however, Henry had made up his mind to divorce Katherine and marry Anne, and in the meantime, Anne was treated as de facto queen. Mary’s husband William died when the sweating sickness swept through the court in 1528, leaving her with debts. Anne took over guardianship of Mary’s son Henry, giving him a respectable education, and secured a widow’s pension for Mary. Anne was crowned queen on June 1, 1533, and Mary was one of her ladies. By 1534, Mary had remarried for love to William Stafford, a soldier and the second son of a landowner in Essex. Stafford had little income, and the couple was married in secret. When Mary became pregnant, however, they were forced to reveal their marriage. Queen Anne and the rest of the Boleyn family were furious that she had married without royal permission, and the couple was banished from court. Mary attempted to get the king’s advisor, Thomas Cromwell, to intervene on her behalf, but King Henry either never got the message or was not moved to action. Likewise, the Boleyns did not relent until Anne did; she sent Mary some money but did not reinstate her position at court. Between 1535 and 1536, Mary and William are believed to have had two children of their own: Edward Stafford (who died at the age of ten), and Anne Stafford, whose whereabouts as an adult are lost to history. Final Years and Legacy of Survival By 1536, Queen Anne had fallen out of favor, and she was arrested (along with her brother George and several male courtiers) and charged with treason, witchcraft, and adultery. Mary did not communicate with her family at this time – indeed, there is no record of contact after Anne’s brief gift following Mary’s exile. Anne was executed on May 19, 1536 (her brother had been executed the day prior), and the remains of the Boleyn family were disgraced. Mary, however, escaped notice. She and her family continued to live off their lands. Mary died on July 19, 1543; her specific cause of death is unknown. Mary never returned to court, but her daughter, Catherine Carey, was summoned by the head of the Howard/Boleyn clan to serve as a lady-in-waiting, first to Anne of Cleves, then to her distant cousin Catherine Howard. Eventually, she became the first lady of the bedchamber (a high-ranked lady-in-waiting) to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Through Catherine and her husband Sir Francis Knollys, Mary’s lineage remains in the British royal family to this day: Queen Elizabeth II is her descendant through her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Mary was mostly forgotten by history in favor of the more colorful and influential figures of the Tudor era. She featured in a few historical fiction and non-fiction texts, but she gained attention in popular culture following Philippa Gregory’s 2001 novel The Other Boleyn Girl and its subsequent 2008 film adaptation. Because many details of her life were not recorded (she was noble, but not especially important), we only know bits and pieces about her. More than anything, her legacy is not one of being the â€Å"unimportant† Boleyn, but of being the Boleyn who survived and thrived. Sources Gregory, Philippa. The Other Boleyn Girl. Simon Schuster, 2001.Hart, Kelly. The Mistresses of Henry VIII.  The History Press, 2009.Weir, Alison. Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings.  Ballantine Books, 2011.Wilkinson, Josephine. Mary Boleyn: The True Story of Henry VIIIs Favorite Mistress. Amberley, 2009.

Mormon Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mormon Church - Essay Example In the 1800’s a man named Joseph Smith was told to dig up these records and to translate them. That is where the Book of Mormon comes from. The Mormon Church is becoming a powerful church all over the world. They actively try to get people to visit their church and to join. There are missionaries all over the world doing this right now. Mitt Romney is trying to get elected as the President of the United States. This has raised interest in the Mormon Church because Mitt Romney is a Mormon. Attending two services of the Mormon Church seemed like the best way to learn about this culture and to understand how Mormons think and view the world. Setting Both of my meetings were held on a Sunday morning. The meetings were actually arranged into a three-hour block of time. The first meeting is referred to as Sacrament Meeting, the second hour is devoted to Sunday School, and the third meeting for men is called Priesthood Meeting while women attend Relief Society. The Chapel was a large , spacious building that was clean and tidy. There was very little ornamentation in the chapel. Typical symbols of Christianity such as a crucifix or statues of Jesus were conspicuously absent from the sanctuary. The building had a very utilitarian feel to it. The sanctuary was no more ornate than the simple classrooms that lined the halls. There were nicely framed paintings on the walls. I was unfamiliar with most of the themes and There was a children’s area and a space referred to as the Cultural Hall that included a basketball court and a stage. The meetings began at 9:00 AM and ended at 12:00 PM. There was a 5-10 minute break that appeared to exist mainly for socializing between each class period. Everything about the setting suggested order and efficiency, from the way the building was constructed and designed, to the way the various meetings were conducted. Participants The people in the congregation were mainly Caucasians. There were a few individuals that appeared to be of Latino descent and only one African American. There were approximately 220 participants in the Sacrament Meeting portion of the worship service. The group that seemed to most dominate the demographics of the congregation was families with children. There were many families with at least three small children and several that appeared to have more than five. Families appeared to sit together for most of the Sacrament Meeting time. There were some elderly women, but only one elderly man was in the congregation. Ethnically and demographically, the congregation was very homogenous. Sacrament Meeting The first meeting of the block each week is Sacrament Meeting. This is the most sacred service for Mormons because they pass bread and water to remember that Jesus died for their sins by giving his body and his blood. The blood is represented by water. The body is represented by bread. The meeting begins with a greeting by a man with the title of Bishop. He is the local leader of the c ongregation. He started the meeting by announcing changes in the Ward staffing assignments. A Ward is a geographic references to the area assigned to a particular congregation. In the Mormon Church, you are encouraged to attend the Ward that your town or community has been assigned to. Church staffing is all voluntary. The Bishop, the teachers and other participants receive no money for their time and efforts so there is no paid clergy in the Mormon Church. The Bishop

CHLAMYDIA AMONG TEENS AND YOUTH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CHLAMYDIA AMONG TEENS AND YOUTH - Essay Example The other important skills include being able to recognize pressures from other people and to resist them, deal with and challenge prejudice, seek help from adults including parents, carers and professionals through the family, community and health and welfare services. Sex education equip young people with the skills to be able to differentiate between accurate and inaccurate information, discuss a range of moral and social issues and perspectives on sex and sexuality, including different cultural attitudes and sensitive issues like sexuality, abortion and contraception. It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education, because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases such as Clamydia and HIV/AIDS. Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis. Even though symptoms of chlamydia are usually mild or absent, serious complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur "silently" before a woman ever recognizes a problem. The bacteria can move from one person to another through sexual intercourse, and possibly through oral-genital contact. If someone touches bodily fluids that contain the bacteria and then touches his or her eye, a chlamydial eye infection is possible. (Stamm W E, 1999) It is difficult for a girl to know whether she has chlamydia because most girls do not have any symptoms. Chlamydia causes an unusual vaginal discharge or pain during urination. Some girls with Chlamydia also have pain in their lower abdomens, pain during sexual intercourse, or bleeding between menstrual periods. Sometimes a Chlamydia infection can cause a mild fever, muscle aches, or headache. Like a girl, a guy can also have a difficult time telling whether he has chlamydia. Some guys may have a discharge from the tip of the penis, the urethra where urine comes out, or experience itching or burning sensations around the penis. Rarely, the testicles become swollen. Chlamydia bacteria live in vaginal fluid and in semen. About 70 percent of Chlamydial infections have no symptoms. It is very common among teenagers and young adults. At present chlamydia affects between 3 and 4 million people a year. It can be very harmful to women because it can lead to sterility. The infection can spread up the fallopian tubes and leaves scar tissue there so an egg can't get through. If this happens a woman can never get pregnant in her uterus. This also increases the risk of an ectopic also known as tubal pregnancy, which is a pregnancy that cannot be completed. This is a serious medical condition and if a tubal pregnancy ruptures one can die. Most at risk groups for Chlamydia are teenagers who actually have the highest rate in the country. Sixteen to 24 year olds have much higher rates than adults and that's both boys and girls. It's alarming because it portends the future health of the kids. And Chlamydia hits teens and young adults hard. More than one out of 25 people ages 18 to 26 are infected with Chlamydia. The infection rate is slightly higher among women, according to the May issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Chlamydia is known as a 'silent' disease because about three quarters of infected women and about half of infected men have no symptoms.

Anything Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Anything - Essay Example It is particularly motivating to ponder on the colorful illustrations of each tale as well as the fine lines uttered by some magical characters both in movie and in text. For one, Hallmark’s ‘My Life as a Fairytale’ creates to mind vivid depictions of H.C. Andersen’s life story through a mixture of settings, characters, and emotions in a collective presentation where the author’s popular creations reflect his own life. The crippled Henrietta, for instance, is characterized by the mermaid who happens to save a prince in a shipwreck during a squall or terrible thunderstorm then falls in love with him eventually. The sight of the mermaid’s journey to the place of the sea witch is quite horrifying as if one would yield to the feeling of ‘no return’ in a forbidden confinement the mermaid musters all strengths to cross. On hearing and watching how the sea witch exclaims ‘Now put out your little tongue so that I can cut it off!â₠¬â„¢ it feels like her pitching would instantly cast a binding spell of curse. The cutting of tongue must be so excruciating it would make that part of the ocean world itself wail out of a blood-filled pain which the mermaid should bear to have scales turn into a pair of legs. All naked and flawless in her milky white shimmering skin, partly covered with locks of unusual length, the lovely mermaid is found lying fast asleep over the side of the palace by the coast. Even as the prince adopts her to be kept as someone very special, she becomes frustrated to express her love through a muted endeavor. At the tragic end, I wonder what causes more hurting between heart breaking and turning into foams which make her vanish away into another world. When Hans meets two of the sons of Charles Dickens, this is the time he gets prompted to create the story of the brave tin soldier and the two kids listen with eagerness as the storyteller narrates the story on vigorous round tone and using a sma ll figurine representing the tin soldier with one leg who sets off on a noble adventure with the other toys at midnight. The children are amazed at the view of the tin heart brought out of the burning fire and the look on their faces shifts from stern to cheer along as the story goes. In this picture, I can see both the flexibility and rigidity of the streets which I suppose bore much influence on Dickens at the time of his creation of Oliver Twist. Industries are well present everywhere making cacophonous sounds coming out of chugging engines. The varying sights of hustle and bustle make up the crowded city squares and certain places where factories emitting huge billows of smoke are erected and seeing the old-style cars belching sulfur-smelling smog as well as hearing boisterous people of different lifestyles are all worth learning how intellectual writers at that period had enriched their literature as Dickens and Andersen did. Though Hans does not achieve a happy ending with Jen ny Lind, his love interest in reality, his admiration of her sweet operatic voice drives him to write about ‘The Nightingale’. Besides expressing his love by giving Jenny the ring of the princess, Hans takes her to a special place of various ornaments, oriental jars, and other such articles that reflect signs of Asian antiquity then asks Jenny to start letting melodies fill the room and blend in an imperial illusion which she would later gaze at in amusement. A viewer can begin to form an image of

Teaching Compound Nouns In The Classroom English Language Essay

Teaching Compound Nouns In The Classroom English Language Essay This essay will discuss the way of teaching particular compound nouns in the classroom through the context of Libyan classes. The first part of the essay deals with the learners and the learning context in Libya. The second one is about the analysis and arguments of the lexical set of compound nouns according to their use, form and meaning. Part three describes the approach that has been used in the teaching procedure within the Libyan context. The last part of this essay shows some errors and feedback and suggested corrections and suggested methods for improvement in proficiency. The lesson plan and materials used to teach the classes have been attached as appendices outside the main body of the essay. A brief profile of the learners and the learning context: The students in the class are aged between 14 and 17 years and they study in a private school in Libya. Their English language proficiency level is intermediate. They study English as a second language for four classes in a week with each class being about 35 minutes in duration. The students native language is Arabic and the class is monolingual. The students started studying English at the age of around eight in primary school. English is considered a second language in Libya; although it is a compulsory part of the educational curriculum. The English syllabus material in this level corresponds fairly closely to that of the degree in New Headway courses, but there is a wider choice of classes during the week. In addition, students are sometimes required to study other supplementary material in English in order to acquire optimum language skills. Analysis of the language point for this essay: The topic of this paper is about teaching concept and lexical uses of compound nouns. The word compound has several meanings in the English language. A compound is a combination of two words or more to form a new word with a different meaning: Compounds may be classified into three types; compound nouns such as toothpaste, compound verbs such as spin-dry, and compound adjectives which are usually hyphenated such as long-haired. Most compound nouns in English are formed by nouns modified by other nouns or adjectives. Sometimes the two words are joined together (e.g. tooth + paste = toothpaste), or they are joined using a hyphen (e.g. check-in), and sometimes they appear as two separate words (e.g. full moon). The language point that will be highlighted in this essay is the teaching of compound nouns. Compound nouns consist of two or more words combined together to form a new word with a different meaning. Graver (1986) points out that compound noun can be created like phrasal verbs by adding an adverb + verb; for example, outcome, takeaway and inlet. He says that there are two different ways to compound these elements. One of these ways is to place the verb and the particle in reverse order to form a compound noun or verb. For example, take over changed to overtake (verb), and put out to output (noun). Generally, to compound two words or more is a productive process in terms of word-formation (Schmitt McCarthy, 1997). Compound nouns can be written as one word, e.g. policeman; as two words joined together by a hyphen, e.g. easy-chair or as two separate words, e.g. air space. Compound nouns are usually made up of two parts, the first part tells us about the object or person or what the purpose of the object is, simply put the first part answers the question what is the purpose or what type it is? The second part tells us what or who the object is. For instance, in the word policeman, the second part of the compound noun tells us what or who the object is, in this case its man and the first part then identifies what kind of a man this noun is, so we know that he is a police man. A list of examples and a related practice exercise is added in appendix 2 for the purpose of giving the students some practical experience of joining words to form compound nouns. Explanation and description of the teaching approach in this context: The needs and the level of the students have been taken into consideration, and the method is suitable to their abilities and communicative style. Harmer (2007) says that students should be exposed amply to the language in use, in order to improve their skills and knowledge so that they are able to interact efficiently in real situations. Advocates of Task-Based Learning (TBL) approach argue that learners must learn the target language to be able to express themselves and be understood. Engaging in real language situations is one of most effective ways of learning the target language. To make the class interactive and allow for more student interaction the teacher encourages the students to interact in the most natural possible ways. How does one normally use language? We use language in a number of ways: to respond to questions, to explain or describe things, to ask questions, to tell stories, to talk about events and for many other purposes. So to reduce teacher-talk-time and allow more student interaction a task-based approach has been adopted here. A task-based lesson usually has a preparation and planning stage called the pre-task; then the task phase is followed by a post-task phase where the teacher facilitates discussions and the students can practice their skills. Pre-task activity involves eliciting some examples of compound nouns to make the students understand what a compound noun is. Teachers can use teaching aids like hand-outs, texts, flash cards, audio-visual materials etc. so that students can familiarize themselves with the concepts learnt. The teacher can then elicit information from the students pertaining to the text or audio/visual clip provided. The elicited compound nouns are collated and written on the board. The learners are asked to recognize and specify them in the text and to use these compound nouns in suitable sentences of their own in the in-task activity. Students work in pairs to come up with some compound nouns related to the task, and then each student in the class is asked to suggest another different compound noun and try to pronounce it correctly. In the post-task stage, students are asked to practice what they have been taught and to be more fluent. The students are engaged in activities where the whole class is expected to participate. The activity uses a set of compound nouns and utilizes these words in sentences in real life contexts. The teacher facilitates small group discussions, question-answer sessions, pop-quizzes, individual or pair work so that the students have ample opportunity to practice the newly learnt compound words in varied contexts. The teacher supervises the discussions and moves around the class and corrects mistakes wherever necessary. Some expected errors and feedback from teacher with suggestions for improvement: Non-native English speakers like the Arab students of this class may confuse or misuse lexical terms particularly complex ones like compound nouns. This confusion can occur especially for speakers of Arabic because of the influence of their mother tongue, which has a different grammatical structure from English. For example, truck driver is the right form of the English compound noun referring to a person who drives a truck. However, due to grammatical composition in Arabic the name of the doer (object) driver is placed before the name of the machine (purpose) truck which will make the word driver truck and will not convey the same meaning as truck driver. Another difference between English and Arabic is that Arabic does not have hyphenated words like break-out or passer-by and the students may be confused when they see or hear this pattern until they become familiar with it. To overcome such situations, the teacher needs to spend a significant amount of time in designing activities like role-plays, story-telling and use audio-visual clips that will help minimize language barriers and reinforce the positive learning outcomes. To be able to develop fluency and a moderately grasp of the language, learners must use every opportunity outside the class to practice their skills. The more they use the language in multiple contexts the more chances will they get of receiving feedback and have the opportunity to rectify their mistakes and learn to adapt themselves to the lexical and grammatical differences between their native tongue and the target language. Pica (1992 1994, cited in Ellis 2004) suggests that negotiation provides learners with feedback on their own use of the target language. When more competent interlocutors respond to less competent speakers they frequently reformulate their statements according to the proficiency of the listener. Conclusion: The objective of teaching English as second language to non-native speakers is to be able to help students to reach a fair level of competency in the target language so that they are able to make sense of lexical and grammatical structures and concepts that may be different from their native tongue. Exposure to the target language is important as is the motivation to practice and master the language. The teacher can only provide guidance and facilitate learning. The level of adaptability and use of more complex lexical and grammatical structures will be determined by the amount of practice that is put in by the learner. It has been the endeavor of this paper to suggest ways by which learners are motivated to achieve this level of competence.

Alcohol and Alcoholism - Binge Drinking :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Binge Drinking Binge drinking results from a student's submission to peer pressure, the lack of outside control over the student, and the denial that drinking leads to severe consequences. Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more drinks in a row for women during a two week period (Wechsler). Many students partake in binge drinking to be socially accepted into a group. Other students find it difficult to make the choice to be the sober outsider. Many binge drinkers realize that there is little immediate outside influence to push them away from the alcohol and they abuse their independence. Most binge drinkers do not consider themselves to be problem drinkers, which adds to the difficulty in solving this college epidemic. They associate binge drinking with a good time, but many are blind to the harm it causes, such as failing grades and unplanned sexual encounters. Binge drinking has become an accepted part of the college experience for many students. Although there are other reasons a student may choose to binge drink, the influence of friends, the lack of outside control and the denial of drinking-related problems are the main forces driving the need to consume alcohol to the point of physical harm. The desire to be social enhances the willingness to binge drink. Social drinking has become a necessary activity at most weekend college parties. Students seek information about the type of alcoholic beverages available prior to attending a party. Having a few drinks has become synonymous with having a good time. A high tolerance for alcohol gains the respect of peers. Those that throw up after a few drinks are ridiculed, including women. Binge drinking rates are the highest among members of fraternities and sororities, which demonstrates the need to drink to fit in with peers. It is questioned whether Greek life attracts or creates binge drinkers. "Many fraternities and sororities are functional saloons. Fully 86% of men and 80% of women who live in fraternities and sororities are binge drinkers," (Wechsler). Unfortunately, the vast majority of students are unaware that their need to fit in with friends and inability to make individual decisions causes them to have dangerous drinking habits. Another circumstance that influences college binge drinking is the lack of outside control over the college student. For children, parents exert that control. As older adults, that control may come in the form of a spouse or employer.