Bad guys still lurk during the holidays

After the stress of final exams has worn off and the thought of spending the rest of the month crammed into tight quarters with your family hasn’t yet happened, there is only one thing to do: get drunk and party one last time this year.

But just because you're filled to the brim with holiday cheer doesn't mean that bad things won't happen when you drink. Alcohol doesn't take the holiday season off. In fact, alcohol-related injuries and deaths are more likely to occur during the holiday season- and according to a new study, this also means more crimes involving date-rape.

Forget Rohypnol “Roofies” and GHB - typical date rape drugs - because a new study says that alcohol is the real date-rape drug. For those of us who have seen our friends turn into unstable messes when drunk, this might not be a surprise.

The U.K researchers studied 120 rape cases. Of those, only two showed signs of GHB, but 119 of the cases showed that the victims had been drinking.

This study has caused a few articles in Men's Health magazine to claim that this is proof that women have been wrongfully accusing men of date rape when, "in fact, the blame was found to be firmly placed on women drinking too much alcohol."

Since most of the cases of date rape reported in the study happened when the victim was drunk, this raises the question, what constitutes as consent? If someone is unable to coherently make a decision about sex, does this mean that they have consented?

"Its not right that a guy takes advantage of an unconscious girl," says public communications major Karsten Anderson. "If a guy does that, he's a douche bag - plain and simple."

Just because a woman doesn't fight back or says "yes," it doesn't always mean she's in the right state of mind to make that kind of decision. It also doesn't mean that women aren't responsible for themselves and how much alcohol they drink.

Either way, the fact is simple: rapes of any kind are more likely to occur when alcohol is present. Now that we have the knowledge, we can fight against it.

Here are some tips on keeping drinking fun and not dangerous.

1)Don't accept a drink that has been given to you by someone else.
2)Keep an eye on your drink at all times and don't leave it unattended
3)Plan ahead. Know how much you're going to drink before you arrive and stick to that number.
4)Always have a group of close friends with you and watch out for each other.
5)Be aware of people who are pressuring you into drinking more than you want to.
For a full list of tips on rape prevention, click here

If you feel uncomfortable or have been violated in any way, FAU has a great counseling center and students can contact Angie Gifford, the victim services counselor.