Beginnings blow. Sure, they're full of hope and are really exciting, but reality often turns out being a huge let down.,”A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single… blah blah blah. Today is the beginning of the rest of your… zzzzz. The beginning is the most important part of any… crap.

Beginnings blow. Sure, they're full of hope and are really exciting, but reality often turns out being a huge let down.

When I first started college I was completely convinced that Marquette would be the land flowing with beer and hunnies, where sororities would be filled with supermodels having pillow fights in their underwear and where school was nothing but a game. What a disappointment.

In reality, beginnings blow like a drunkard taking a Breathalyzer test outside Marquette Gyros at two in the morning.

Well, some of you know what I'm talking about and others will soon find out.

Now I know that everyone here at Marquette is more intelligent than I and no one here ever had such extravagant dreams of a college partying experience.

And I'm just a peer, not a parent or guardian, so I would never lecture students about excessive partying no matter how dangerous it may be. But, then again, the statistics pretty much speak for themselves.

Here at Marquette:

-On the first night of new student orientation, the Milwaukee Police Department gave four citations to a 20-year-old Marquette Student who was drinking in public and arrested two incoming freshmen for resisting arrest.

-Daniel Ledden, the College of Arts & Sciences junior who allegedly battered a Department of Public Safety officer, is an underage student who was under the influence at the time of the alleged attack.

-Between 2002 and 2004, 1,884 students appeared before the Student Conduct Board for alcohol use and 250 for drugs, according to the 2005 Safety Resource Guide.

-Even though today is just thefirst day of school, the counseling center has already seen freshmen during new student orientation last week and has numerous appointments scheduled for this week, according to Brenda Lenz, coordinator and counselor of Alcohol and Drug Prevention and Treatment.

-Nearly 1,000 Marquette students a year visit the counseling center for issues of substance abuse, Lenz said.

-Between 9.4 percent and 11.5 percent of Marquette freshmen drop out or choose not to return as sophomores, according to Anne Deahl, associate provost for enrollment management. Deahl also added that Marquette "excels" in this area when compared to other universities.

On a national level (the following statistics are provided by www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov, an accredited Web site according to the Marquette Counseling Center):

-1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries.

-599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured each year under the influence of alcohol.

-More than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted each year by another student who has been drinking.

-About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including failing classes, missing classes, falling behind, poor performance on exams or papers and receiving lower overall grades.

Like I said before, I would never dream of lecturing my peers about partying or warning them of the dangers. I guess what I'm really trying to say in this column is today is the beginning and welcome.

Welcome back fellow seniors, only 233 more days until graduation! Welcome back juniors and sophomores and to those whose college experience is just beginning today, welcome to the game.

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