• College students turning 21 are often challenged to down 21 drinks on their birthdays.
• Between 1999 and 2005, 157 college-aged people drank themselves to death.
• While no one at Marquette has died from excessive drinking, students say they have seen fellow students drink 21 shots on their birthdays.

For many college students, a 21st birthday celebration comes with a challenge to down 21 alcoholic drinks.

YouTube search "21st Birthday Shots" and there are videos of people taking 21 consecutive shots to celebrate their birthdays, with chanting friends — and a bucket — at their sides.

What those videos don't show is the aftermath.

Between 1999 and 2005, 157 college-aged people drank themselves to death, according to a July 7 Associated Press analysis of federal records.

A sample of 2,518 college students showed that 12 percent drank 21 alcoholic drinks on their 21st birthdays and about half exceeded their previous maximum number of alcoholic drinks, according to data published by the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

An additional 22 percent of males and 12 percent of female birthday drinkers reported not only making it through the 21 drinks, but drinking more afterward.

Ann Conrath, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said one of her male friends, a fellow Marquette student, drank 21 shots on his birthday about a month ago and was carried home by four of his friends before he got sick.

"I've seen the atrocities result from taking 21 shots first hand, and that is exactly why I would never encourage any of my friends to do it," Conrath said. "Seeing that made me more cautious when I turned 21 about a month ago. People need to stop encouraging their friends because that's how it starts."

Austin Ryan, a junior in the College of Education, is a bartender at Angelo's Pizza Restaurant, 1601 W. Wells St., where many students go to end their night.

"I really don't see people come in here taking 21 shots," Ryan said. "I've only seen one person actually do it. If someone is really done and asking for more, I'll tell them they're done. But if they persist, I might give them one more watered down drink and then cut them off."

Elizabeth O'Leary, a junior in the College of Communication, celebrated her 21st birthday on Tuesday, and said that drinking 21 shots is not common on Marquette's campus.

"I definitely did not drink 21 shots because I didn't want to die. People die from that," O'Leary said. "I feel like that's more of a myth. I don't think that anyone here really does that, but I think it's probably more of an issue at bigger schools. And I think that it's more of a guy thing."

Past news reports have shown that a number of college-aged students have died after a night of binge drinking. While it has happened elsewhere, it has not occurred at Marquette.

"I do not recall anyone at Marquette ever dying because of alcohol poisoning or drinking too much," said Capt. Russ Shaw of the Department of Public Safety. "If we see someone on the street that looks like they need medical assistance, we'll stop them and check their condition."