person passed out at table
Chantel Brink
Chantel Brink
March 4, 2024 ·  4 min read

Borgs: The inventive drinking hack taking over university parties

Gone are the days of campus parties with filthy bathtubs and kegs filled with liquor. It’s now all about the Borg. But what is it exactly? Firstly, we need to understand the culture of campus parties and the risks these students put themselves under. Binge drinking is on an upward trend and the risks involved are tremendous.

Gone are the days of jungle juice and signature red cups, it’s all about the “blackout rage gallon” or borgs

The Gen Z community has found a new way to binge drink. And according to them, it’s seemingly improved and safer. It starts with a plastic gallon container. Students usually mix half a gallon of water with half a gallon of liquor. (Usually vodka, but the choices are endless). A caffeinated flavor enhancer is added and some electrolytes are tossed in the mix at the end.

They’re claiming that borgs are the hangover-proof party drink of choice

Borg recipes have gone completely viral on social media and one TikTok user was pretty nonchalant about the effects of the drink. On a TikTok posted by a University of Texas student, she playfully joked that borgs are “a heart attack in a jug.” The student who goes by bellaaalonzo on TikTok demonstrated how she makes her very own borg drink.

@kylekeller25

What is a “BORG”

♬ original sound – Kyle Keller

She mixed water, vodka, a generous squirt of red Mio water enhancer, a Celcius energy drink, and Liquid IV, an electrolyte mix together. The video has gotten over 1.6 million views and is still climbing. The fact that these videos have such a high number of views is concerning. It again proves there is a massive issue with binge drinking on campuses as a whole.

Binge drinking refers to the consumption of large quantities of alcohol over a short period of time. And it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Popular for decades, students, the pastime is reminiscent of campus life for many. Students, however, are looking for safer ways to enjoy this pastime and that’s when the borg was birthed.

Erin Monroe from New York is a harm reduction specialist and she has actually praised the invention of the borg as an alternative that decreases the risks associated with heavy binge drinking. She claims to love borgs as the person mixing the drink has absolute control over what goes into it. “If you don’t want to put liquor in, you don’t have to,” Monroe said.

Read: Powerful Video Highlights the Importance of Drinking Responsibly and the Horrors of Drunk Driving.

Not only is the mixing of your own drink safer, but the additional presence of a lid reduces the risks of having your drinks spiked. Again, a massive problem with campus parties. “When it comes to substance use prevention, harm reduction recognizes that people are going to make their own decisions when it comes to alcohol and other drugs,” Monroe told NBC. “But there are strategies we can use to reduce some of the risks.”

A millennial weighed in on her own experiences from campus life and praised Gen Z ingenuity

Another TikTok user actually praised Gen Zs for their creativity, walking through her life on campus in the past as a millennial. She recounts jungle juice in dirty bathtubs and frat houses in college. There were no concerns for cleanliness as the mantra was always “alcohol kills germs.” We know that germs aren’t even the main concern here.

With Borgs, it seems that names for their very own concoctions are just as important

The ceremonial name granted to each mixologist’s creation is a very important part of creating your borg and there are some really clever puns out there. Some of these for example include: “I like big borgs and I cannot lie,”Borg-ingham Palace,” “Borg Lite,” and “I studied a-borg.” The only limit here lies in your very own creativity.

The term BORG first appeared on social media in 2020 and steadily gained in popularity throughout the pandemic

First appearing in 2020 while students were looking for alternative ways to enjoy a campus tradition, the #Borg has since gathered over 65 million views collectively on TikTok. It is however important to remember that while this method of binge drinking is safer, the entire concept of binge drinking is not.

The guideline of 5 or more drinks per male or 4 or more drinks per female in one event is considered binge drinking. In Canada alone, 32% of students between 20 and 34 years of age claim they binge drink more than 12 times a year. Those numbers are staggering. Are you a fan of the idea of booze-filled gallon jugs?

Keep Reading: Are tip requests getting out of hand? Many consumers say yes.

Sources

  1. Borgs: The inventive drinking hack taking over university parties.” Global News. Sarah Do Couto. February 10, 2023.