Brotherhood of Booze

When you think of fraternity life, you may think parties, sorority girls and groups of fraternity boys horsing around and chugging beers. The last thing you would imagine is someone being taken to the hospital for extreme alcohol poisoning. Well, maybe that is not so far fetched. What is shocking is how he got to that point. According to some reports, a fraternity member at the University of Tennessee got alcohol poisoning by an alcohol enema. Police reports said that Alexander Broughton of the Pi Kappa Alpha house at UT was found unconscious, and other frat members told police was by alcohol enema, also known as “butt chugging.” Later on, frat members and Broughton’s family denied the method, saying there was nothing more than drinking. The practice of alcohol enemas is used because the alcohol is absorbed faster through the colon and users get intoxicated faster.  Whatever the method, for Broughton the intoxication came very fast and very strong. Hospital staff reported that he was unresponsive and in critical condition when he arrived, with a blood alcohol level above .40. This level of intoxication could have claimed his life. When you are young, you feel invincible and may engage in reckless or dumb behavior but this can spiral out of control in a second. It is unclear if Broughton chose to “butt chug” or was hazed by his fraternity brothers, but one thing is for sure, you need to be careful with alcohol. Have you ever engaged in reckless behavior under the influence? What were the consequences? Share your thoughts below or share them on our Facebook page.