2012-2013 Call editor-in-chief Claire Salzman, current freshman at Mizzou majoring in jounalism and political science, shares her perspective on college partying and warns students about the heightened dangers of drinking or doing drugs in college.

My friends are pretty smart about how they party. If they’re drinking or smoking, they only accept what they brought themselves or what their friends gave them. They don’t go to parties if they don’t know the host, and they leave (either on foot or with a designated driver) whenever too many strangers start showing up. They watch out for each other, cut each other off and are very generous with their couch if someone needs to spend the night. Like I said, they’re pretty smart. But most college students aren’t.

Most people drink whatever is around and smoke with strangers. They go to parties with hundreds of people, thrown by “a friend of a friend of a friend” or a fraternity. They stay at parties until the cops show up, and if one gets busted, they hop on over to the next. And when a friend gets too drunk, they might drag him or her back to the dorm to sleep it off. Or worst case scenario, they’ll leave their friend behind.

Here’s the difference between college and high school parties: in high school, you probably know almost everyone at a party. In college, you’re lucky if you recognize 10 faces out of 100. Some might think that’s fun, but you have to keep your wits about you 24/7. Strangers feel significantly less guilty about drugging you, giving you too much to drink or taking care of you, partially because they’re not likely to ever see you again. It brings a whole new level of responsibility to partying.

I’m not trying to tell anyone not to drink or do drugs; that’s their business, and I’m not naive enough to think that saying so would be effective. My hope is to warn incoming college students about the new dangers that come with college parties. I know several people who have been roofied, a few who smoked something that ended up being different than what they asked for and too many who were too drunk to realize they were being raped.

College is fun, and usually it’s a very safe place. But it’s a different environment, especially for partying, and it requires adaptation. Many people don’t drink, and many don’t do drugs. But if you’re going to, know what you’re putting into your body. And please, be smart when you do.