Alum writes book on binging
By Laban Pelz
The Collegian
While most college students
know that binge drinking is the excessive consumption of alcohol, most
students don’t know about the phenomenon author Gino D. Borges calls
“binge thinking.”
Borges, a Fresno State graduate, defines binge thinking as something like
its alcohol-related counterpart: too much thought, given to too many things,
in too short a time. Borges said binge thinking is at its most intense
during a person’s college experience, when students have only a
few years to point their lives in the right direction.
Borges and co-author Zachary M. White said they hope their new book, “Binge
Thinking: A Different Kind of College Hangover,” will be the first
of many works on the subject, which they said is too often not talked
about.
“When something is stuck in your head, you begin to think as if
you’re alone,” Borges said Saturday.
Loneliness, the book says, is one of the five types of binge thinking.
The other types include: the stress of dissatisfaction, the desire for
recognition, the need to belong, and finding a perfect relationship and
an ideal job. All of these thought patterns, the authors said, can suddenly
overwhelm college students, yet are still not discussed openly at universities.
While sex, drugs, overeating, and all that go along with those parts of
college life, are widely publicized in universities, schools don’t
talk about binge thinking, the book says, though every student will experience
it. Even successful students are victims.
“Just because you’re doing well with grades, doesn’t
mean you’re fulfilled,” White said.
“Binge Thinking,” is written in a narrative-style that addresses
each one of these types of binging in a story. What’s appealing
about the book, Borges said, is its simple format, which lacks statistics.
Borges, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s
degree in communication from Fresno State in the late 1990s, said that
while binge thinking is something he found to exist on all college campuses
across the country, his own experiences at Fresno State gave him a unique
perspective.
“The diversity of Fresno State allowed me to see the different ways
people binge,” he said. “But everyone experienced binge thinking
no matter what background they came from. It was just dressed up in different
clothes.”
Borges said that this observation only reinforced his notion that binge
thinking is something experienced universally by college students.
Borges and White, who both received doctorates in communication from Purdue
University, began their study on this subject while still students. They
said it was only when they began observing college students from the other
side of the classroom that they realized how common their experiences
were.
“We have the unique perspective of going all the way through college,
and then teaching it,” Borges said. “We see ourselves through
other students. We see that we aren’t the only ones. We weren’t
alone.”
“Binge Thinking” is the product of the authors’ own
experiences, classes taught and years of speaking with students and parents
on campuses across the country, they said. Some of the “thousands
upon thousands” of students they spoke to were also interviewed
in bars and at parties.
“The research was not done in a laboratory,” White said.
While Borges and White have found that binge thinking affects all college
students, they said it has become more intense in the last 10 years.
“More people are going to college now,” Borges said. “It’s
a rite of passage. (When I went to college) there weren’t as many
prep courses, or as much debt. There’s much more pressure on students
now.”
Borges noted that students now prepare for college even before they enter
high school.
To help students cope with binge thinking, Borges and White introduce
the reader to the “binge thinking vocabulary.” This is done
so students can step outside their situations, and talk about their lives
using a new language.
Binge thinking itself, Borges said, is a term used to examine students’
situations. Another expression is “moment abusing.” This occurs
when the future seems more real than the present, and a student tries
to control what will happen five years from now.
“A student will choose one political science class over the other,
because they want to be on the Supreme Court,” Borges said.
White said the binge thinking vocabulary allows all students, regardless
of their success, to communicate how they feel.
“The vocabulary gives students a way to talk to friends and parents
without grades being the only way to explain what’s going on,”
he said.
Fresno State students said they knew little or nothing about the study
of binge thinking, and don’t talk about any of its effects with
other students.
Hector Gonzalez, who is pursuing an MBA, offered another reason why students
have a hard time dealing with all the worrying involved with college.
“It’s also the first time people think for themselves,”
he said.
Gonzalez said the discussion of binge thinking should be promoted in the
student body, and shared more.
Karen Sangho, a third year accounting major, said she thought discussion
would be a good idea, but she doubted if it would help.
“Everyone has their own path,” she said. “It would be
good for those who need to talk, but I know that everyone else feels the
same way.”
To view the authors’ Web site, visit www.BORGESANDWHITE.com.
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