College students who drink too much are not completely responsible for their actions.

That, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Medical Association on binge drinking among college students, is how most adult Americans feel.

Binge drinking, is drinking a lot of alcohol in a little amount of time. For men that would mean five or more drinks in a row, while for women that would be four or more drinks in a row.

According to the study, “Although Americans still hold college students responsible for their actions, they say that environmental factors are equally as important: easy access to and abundance of cheap alcohol; pervasive advertising, promotions and sponsorship by beer and liquor companies; and the presence of so many bars and retail establishments that sell alcohol near campuses.”

At the University of Southern California there are bars on campus, restaurants that serve alcohol near the campus, and frat parties where “there’s tons of alcohol,” said current USC, and former Cerritos College business major D.J. Barnes.

In fact, frat parties seem to be a major source of alcohol for college students.

Current Cerritos College and Cal State Long Beach student, Carina Ramirez said, “There’s always alcohol at the frat houses.”

There is a big difference between community colleges and four year colleges.

“At USC [drinking] is a lifestyle,” Barnes said. “The attitude is just dlifferent from Cerritos. I never saw anything at Cerritos like I see (at USC).”

Jordan Sharif, a student at Santa Monica Community College said he always goes to Westwood – which is located near UCLA – on weekends, to drink.

The frat parties at UCLA are “the bomb,” Sharif said.

In citing environmental influences as the main reason for college students drinking, a majority of people surveyed said they would strongly support increasing penalties on retail establishments that serve underage and intoxicated drinkers, increasing legal liability on bars that serve underage drinkers and intoxicated persons and banning alcohol advertising in college sports.

Barnes said he thinks binge drinking has a lot to do with the “maturity level.” He sees more freshmen and sophomores doing it than the juniors and seniors – although they do it too.

Eduardo Gonzalez, who is a 25- year old Cal State L.A. sociology major and former Cerritos College sttudent said, because he is not the traditional college age, he doesn’t really drink with friends from college. “I just don’t want to get wild like they do.”

Instead, he prefers to drink socially with friends closer to his own age. However, Gonzales says he will binge drink here and there. “Sometimes you just feel like getting buzzed.”